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Bird-Dogs and Tankers

Fixed-wing firefighters of the sky
Written by Blair Watson   
334-birdSmoking can be an expensive habit, and in the case of one Canadian, it resulted in the mobilization of millions of dollars of firefighting aircraft during the summer of 2003. The cigarette of a Barriere, BC resident started a blaze that cost the provincial government $31 million to fight. The conflagration destroyed 260 sq. km. of forests, 75 homes, 150 buildings and four businesses, including a major sawmill.

Although some forest and brush fires are started by people, most are ignited by lightning. From 1995 to 2005, there were 82,801 reported wild land fires in Canada, which burned a total of 26,854,351 hectares, an area roughly equal to New Zealand. This country has about 417 million hectares of forestland. To minimize the destruction caused by wild land fires each year, aviation resources are deployed across the country, and at times, to the US and other nations. Companies such as Conair of Abbotsford, B.C. have exported their aerial firefighting expertise and technology, and foreign delegations have visited provincial forest services to learn how to fight wild land fires more effectively.

The history of using aircraft to fight forest fires dates back to 1918 when the BC government contracted a company to build a Curtiss H-2 flying boat to fly fire patrols. Testing was started in August of that year, but during one test flight the H-2 crashed and was destroyed. Because thousands of voters watched the airplane fall out of the sky, the politicians of the day decided to discontinue the project.

However, after the First World War there were surplus military aircraft and airmen returning from Europe still eager to fly. Given the successes during the war of airborne intelligence gathering, it was recognized that aircraft could be used to detect fires in Canada’s vast hinterland. On Sept. 27, 1919, the Victoria Times published a news report about a private pilot who spotted a forest fire while flying over Duncan, BC. He landed and reported the fire’s location to a ranger, who mustered men and equipment to extinguish the blaze.

For many years, seaplanes such as the Vickers Vedette Flying Boat and de Havilland Tiger Moth on floats were used for fire patrols. With innumerable lakes and rivers in the Canadian bush and thousands of miles of coastline, seaplanes could take off and land in regions where there were no airstrips. Landbased fire patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 1920s included the DH-4, DH-9 and Avro 504.

Starting in the mid-1930s, the Noorduyn Norseman operated in Canada’s wilderness in support of forest firefighting, and was joined 13 years later by the de Havilland Beaver, which could take-off heavily loaded from small lakes thanks to its STOL capability. Both the Norseman and Beaver were used to transport equipment and firefighters across the country’s forested regions.

In August 1945, a Norseman equipped with water pickup and bombing controls was used to attack a fire near Temagami, ON. A few years later, 5-gallon waterproof bags of water were dumped through the camera hatch of an Ontario Provincial Air Service Beaver (with no appreciable effect on the fire).

Today, high-wing airplanes such as Cessna 337 Skymasters and C182 Skylanes are used for fire patrols, and aircraft like the Convair 580 shuttle firefighters to airports where air tanker groups are based. Cessna Caravans and other cargo airplanes bring in support equipment and supplies. During the fire season, aircraft, pilots and other personnel are moved around to help battle blazes that have become too large for provincial or territorial resources. At the beginning of the season, air tanker groups are deployed to forward bases. A group is comprised of birddog and tanker aircraft, and during firefighting operations they are assisted by helicopters with tanks underneath or suspended water buckets.

The term “bird-dog” originated with the US Army. In the late 1940s, it started using the single-engine Cessna 305 for liaison duties, and created the name “bird-dog” for the rugged, little airplane. The C305 was also used by the US Forest Service for wild land fire patrols and other operations. “Bird-dog” has been applied to fixed-wing aircraft involved in the coordination of aerial firefighting ever since.

The initial attack on a forest fire begins with the forest service coordination centre notifying a tanker group to launch. The first aircraft from the group to take off is the bird-dog; onboard is the pilot and a forest service Air Attack Officer (AAO). As the birddog approaches the fire, the AAO conducts an initial assessment. The pilot then flies orbits at 1,500 to 2,000 feet AGL, allowing the AAO to better assess the fire, develop an attack strategy, look for structures and hazards and select the first target and bombing run direction. The bird-dog then descends to about 150 feet above the trees to conduct an inspection of the tankers run. The bird-dog team checks for hydro lines, rises in terrain,d. and other hazards, and notes the turbulence and visibility on the approach to the fire and over it. This information is then communicated to the tanker pilots.

After the bird-dog departs, the amphibious tankers (where used) take off and head toward a body of water to fill their internal tanks. The time required to do so depends on the aircraft. For example, the Canadair water bomber takes about 10 to 12 seconds. The water is mixed with a concentrate that creates a fire-suppressing foam. Land-based tanker aircraft are often filled with a red chemical retardant, which acts longer than the foam.

A temporary control zone is established around the fire up to 3,000 feet AGL, and the bird-dog team controls the firefighting aircraft in the zone. Before the tankers commence their bombing run, the bird-dog climbs to about 500 feet above the bombing run altitude to observe the tankers’ work and direct ground firefighting activities. Heli-attack aircraft, which arrive on-site early in the bombing with ground firefighters, enter the fire area above the tankers and below the bird-dog. Reconnaissance and mapping helicopters fly above the bird-dog.

When a wild land fire is larger (> 5 hectares), airspace management becomes increasingly complex and different tactics are used. The preferred tactic is crosswindbombing runs across the head of the fire to stop its advance. Low visibility in smoke and turbulence from the heat may make crosswind runs impossible, in which case the air attack starts at the rear of the fire and works up its flanks to cut off the head.

Bird-dog aircraft include the Cessna 310, Piper Aerostar and Rockwell Turbo Commander. Some are equipped with Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR), which allows the AAO to see through the smoke and better determine the size of the fire and direction of its advance. Onboard systems record FLIR and video images and transmit data about the fire to base. Amphibious tankers used in Canada are the Air Tractor AT-802F Fireboss, Canadair CL-215, -215T, and -415, and the four-engine Mighty Martin Mars. Total water tank capacity ranges from 2,498 to 27,276 litres. Land-based tankers include the Convair CV580/A and CV5800, Douglas DC-6 and B-26 Invader, Turbo Firecat (a modified Tracker aircraft with PT6A engines), and the L-188 Electra (modified to air tanker).

The national tanker fleet consists of 13 CL-215s, which are operated by the provinces on behalf of the country. In the mid-1980s, six provinces and the federal government bought 29 CL- 215s and created the Cooperative Supply Agreement to govern sharing of the fleet. The CL-215 was designed in the 1960s and has two radial engines. In the 1980s, 17 CL-215s were modified with turboprop engines and redesignated as - 215Ts. The CL-415, which first flew in December 1993, is the latest generation of multi-role, amphibious aircraft and has an air-conditioned, EFIS-equipped cockpit.

Coordination of aerial firefighting resources between the provinces and territories, and Canada and other nations, is done by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg. Within Canada, aircraft, personnel, and equipment are shared under the Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resources Sharing Agreement. Between this country and our neighbour, the Canada/US Reciprocal Forest Fire Fighting Arrangement allows for aerial firefighting resources to be quickly deployed in either country as needed.

Aerial firefighting involves significant risks.

In July 2003, a Lockheed L-188 Electra air tanker struck the side of a ridge in southern B.C. and exploded on impact. In Alberta in May 2001, a Cessna T310Q birddog aircraft was manoeuvring at low altitude, probably stalled (according to the TSB), and crashed into the trees. The pilot and AAO died. Flying relatively slow and very low over fires, doing several bombing runs each day, turning in mountainous valleys, and flying many hours daily during the fire season makes aerial firefighting quite challenging.

Thousands of Canadians owe a debt of gratitude to the aerial firefighting professionals whose efforts have saved their homes, businesses and livelihoods. Let’s not add to their workload by accidentally starting a forest or brush fire this summer.
 
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