Wildfires in CA – amazing photos captured by my mom

This time of year where my mom lives, the chaparral and intense heat create tinderbox conditions. A few days ago a huge wildfire broke out and headed straight toward the homes in the area. We have had some close calls before but this one was truly frightening, and one home was lost. Thankfully no people or pets were.

It is a reminder to those of us who live in wildfire areas, to always have an emergency plan, and to build homes and landscapes with fire safety in mind.

My mom is a photography and aviation buff, and she has a real appreciation for the firefighters who do this kind of work. I am posting this email she sent, as the photos (and her pilot’s insight into how dangerous this work is) are truly incredible. 🙂

Here’s what she writes:

These shots are some of what the news can’t show…With each pass these pilots risk their lives. Conditions are extreme. They are approaching at less than 300′ above ground level and dropping sometimes less than 100′. One pass the plane looks like it’s about 75′. At low altitude & air speed the physics of flying are at the low end of lift vs. drag, and stress the limits of the design criteria of the aircraft. And that’s in perfect take off & landing conditions….These guys are essentially executing a “touch-and-go” maneuver without the “touch” part, each pass with maneuverability constraints. It’s like making hundreds of take-offs and landings in a day.

They fly directly into a maelstrom of smoke…without the ability to see anything except their instruments. Low altitude, low air speed, low or zero visibility, split second decisions…for 8 hours.

A scout plane escorts the S-2T tanker in when smoke obscures visibility. The scout pilot’s job is to make sure the tanker maintains a safe altitude through the hills, valleys, and canyons. There is another plane flying at 500-1,000 feet, serving as a flying control tower to advise all of the air assault team.

The Volcano Fire was inside of a mile from my house as the crow flies. I’m sitting in the dining room right now and looking out the front window I imagine the terror I would feel if the fire had come over the ridge, about 1/2 mile away. Because of CalFire & Station 75, plus Hemet and San Diego I’m safe to send this message of gratitude. They draw the line between fire and safety with all that they are and tell the enemy, “If you think you want in you’re going to have to go through me!”

~ God Bless Them And Keep Them Safe! ~

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Above: About 75′ above ground level. (!!!!!!!!!!) The palm tree tops you can see in the lower left corner are where the lost house was.

That’s the house [that was lost]….It is densely planted all around with what appears to be very little defensible space. The responsibility falls upon all of us, as the homeowner to carefully weigh the risk and benefits of building a house on a slope abutting dense chaparral. While I am saddened for their loss I would never question the decision on the part of the firefighters to let a house go. It is hugely unfortunate that the homeowner paid the ultimate price for living there but I would never expect a firefighter to pay with his life to save it.

Fire crews had to go in on foot carrying or dragging hundreds bof pounds of equipment because of the steepness of the location and risk of becoming trapped. We lost 2 engines in the Rice Fire in Fallbrook in 2010 because of this type of home permitting.

Above: Bull’s-eye!

Above: S-2T tanker with escort ~ At this point the scout is the tanker’s flying control tower. Tanker keeps the escort in his sight to guide him in and out of the drop zone.