This is just an interum update on the short haul program at Zion National Park. Our enhancement proposal for short haul has been approved through the Park Superintendent. Next stop will be the Intermountain Regional Office where the Regional Director must sign the appropriate document. All indications is that this will occure... stay tuned!
Side-note: I was made aware that the National Office (NPS) has made the decision to approve short haul for use in Wildland Fire (insertion/extraction). There are few if any details at this time. The Fire and Aviation Management Workshop in San Antonio during the first week of Feb should give some insight into the thoughts and application of this decision.
So this is just a quick update... I would be looking for a post to follow the workshop in San Antonio happening next week.
Cheers,
Zion Helitack
Monday, January 25, 2010
Last Call !!!
January 26th, 2010...
Today is potentially your last chance!
We will be pulling our first certificate on January 27th... meaning that January 26th is the last day in which you may apply and be considered for our initial hiring. I have mentioned this in previous posts, however it warrants another mention. We do not typically have the need to pull any aditional "certs" following the first one. This means if you do not get your application in by close of business on January 26th, you may not receive a chance to be hired.
Recommendation: Get Your Application In!
For those of you who have applied already... We will be pulling our first "cert" on January 27th and it should be to us by the first week of February. This will begin the hiring process! We hope to have our initial group of individuals, selected by the middle of February. If you applied and have not heard from us by the close of the month, you can get in touch with us using the link on the right of this blog in order to inquire about your standings.
Good luck to everyone! As we get closer, it now looks like we will have 3 seasonal GS-3/4 positions available on the crew.
Today is potentially your last chance!
We will be pulling our first certificate on January 27th... meaning that January 26th is the last day in which you may apply and be considered for our initial hiring. I have mentioned this in previous posts, however it warrants another mention. We do not typically have the need to pull any aditional "certs" following the first one. This means if you do not get your application in by close of business on January 26th, you may not receive a chance to be hired.
Recommendation: Get Your Application In!
For those of you who have applied already... We will be pulling our first "cert" on January 27th and it should be to us by the first week of February. This will begin the hiring process! We hope to have our initial group of individuals, selected by the middle of February. If you applied and have not heard from us by the close of the month, you can get in touch with us using the link on the right of this blog in order to inquire about your standings.
Good luck to everyone! As we get closer, it now looks like we will have 3 seasonal GS-3/4 positions available on the crew.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
1st Major Aviation Tragedy of 2010!
Going through e-mails yesterday and came across an e-mail talking about what a wonderful job the Department of the Interior had done during the first quarter of the new fiscal year. The e-mail was talking about the accident free record that aviation had and what an accomplishment that was. I believe it was title "Congratulations! - on our way to a mishap free FY2010". The e-mail was sent out by John Mills, Aviation Safety Manager for the Department of the Interior, and stated the following;
Congratulations and well done on a mishap free December! But not only the month of December, the first quarter of FY2010 as well. Not since 2006 has the DOI had a mishap free first quarter... Let's make FY10 a mishap-free year for DOI aviation.
It was a good way to start out the morning. In aviation, like other areas of the Government, we strive to avoid mishaps, incidents with potential, and especially injury. It often time seems like a losing battle, and it is easy to become cynical about the issue of "no accidents". However, we never stop striving to reach this goal. No one ever leaves the house saying, "yep, today is the day to let my guard down... who knows maybe I'll have an accident".
The first e-mail of the day showing praise for a job well done and giving encouragement that we can accomplish our goal of no mishaps, was quickly overshadowed with the news of a helicopter crash in Northern California.
A California Fish & Game Helicopter crashed in Madera County on the Sierra NF southwest of Yosemite earlier today... The company listed is one that our Calif. LE folks used this past summer.
The helicopter that crashed today near Redinger Lake was doing work for the state Department of the Fish and Game, Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said. Stuart confirmed that the U.S. Forest Service personnel are on scene, and that Madera County deputies are headed there. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office has offered assistance, she said.
Gary Schales, a pilot for the Department of Fish and Game, said the helicopter struck an electrical wire 300 feet above Redinger Lake and crashed. Three Department of Fish and Game employees aboard the helicopter were conducting deer surveys, Schales said.
John Baker, a Central District assistant chief for the department of Fish and Game, said the helicopter was owned by Landells Aviation, an air charter service based in Desert Hot Springs.
Southern California Edison spokesman Bill DeLaine said the helicopter made contact with power lines, but it wasn't clear if that caused the crash. The utility is looking into the extent of the damage, but the crash has not caused a major power outage, he said.
We have since learned that all 3 passengers and the pilot lost their lives during this incident. Although this particular flight was not under the control of the DOI, it is a grim reminder of just how quickly a promissing record of no mishaps can be squashed. It is never a good time to lose a loved one, but anything near a holiday seems to hit a little harder when revisiting thoughts of loved ones who are gone. It will undoubtedly be a difficult time of the year, for many years to come, as the surviving family members remember their lost loved ones.
Our hearts go out to the families... and our cry for vigilence in the persuit of an accident free year are strengthened. We encourage everyone to wake up each morning with a conscious thought about making it a safe day... be sure to clear your mind of other stresses and distractions prior to climbing on board that aircraft, make your mission the focus of what you are doing.
Our Thoughts & Prayers
M.L.
Congratulations and well done on a mishap free December! But not only the month of December, the first quarter of FY2010 as well. Not since 2006 has the DOI had a mishap free first quarter... Let's make FY10 a mishap-free year for DOI aviation.
It was a good way to start out the morning. In aviation, like other areas of the Government, we strive to avoid mishaps, incidents with potential, and especially injury. It often time seems like a losing battle, and it is easy to become cynical about the issue of "no accidents". However, we never stop striving to reach this goal. No one ever leaves the house saying, "yep, today is the day to let my guard down... who knows maybe I'll have an accident".
The first e-mail of the day showing praise for a job well done and giving encouragement that we can accomplish our goal of no mishaps, was quickly overshadowed with the news of a helicopter crash in Northern California.
A California Fish & Game Helicopter crashed in Madera County on the Sierra NF southwest of Yosemite earlier today... The company listed is one that our Calif. LE folks used this past summer.
The helicopter that crashed today near Redinger Lake was doing work for the state Department of the Fish and Game, Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said. Stuart confirmed that the U.S. Forest Service personnel are on scene, and that Madera County deputies are headed there. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office has offered assistance, she said.
Gary Schales, a pilot for the Department of Fish and Game, said the helicopter struck an electrical wire 300 feet above Redinger Lake and crashed. Three Department of Fish and Game employees aboard the helicopter were conducting deer surveys, Schales said.
John Baker, a Central District assistant chief for the department of Fish and Game, said the helicopter was owned by Landells Aviation, an air charter service based in Desert Hot Springs.
Southern California Edison spokesman Bill DeLaine said the helicopter made contact with power lines, but it wasn't clear if that caused the crash. The utility is looking into the extent of the damage, but the crash has not caused a major power outage, he said.
We have since learned that all 3 passengers and the pilot lost their lives during this incident. Although this particular flight was not under the control of the DOI, it is a grim reminder of just how quickly a promissing record of no mishaps can be squashed. It is never a good time to lose a loved one, but anything near a holiday seems to hit a little harder when revisiting thoughts of loved ones who are gone. It will undoubtedly be a difficult time of the year, for many years to come, as the surviving family members remember their lost loved ones.
Our hearts go out to the families... and our cry for vigilence in the persuit of an accident free year are strengthened. We encourage everyone to wake up each morning with a conscious thought about making it a safe day... be sure to clear your mind of other stresses and distractions prior to climbing on board that aircraft, make your mission the focus of what you are doing.
Our Thoughts & Prayers
M.L.
Friday, December 4, 2009
2010 Hiring!
Well... it is finally here. I know it seems as though we are behind the curve, and truth be told we are just a little later than normal. If you are interested in applying for a seasonal position with Zion Helitack, you should follow the directions below to ensure you have an oportunity at employment.
Zion Helitack will be looking at the potential for one GS-5 senior firefighter position, and 1-3 GS 3 or 4 firefighter positions. There is never a gaurantee that these positions will be available as we often offer returning crewmembers the opportunity to occupy the same position that had the year previous. What we can gaurantee you is that without applying you will not have the opportunity to be considered for employement, should we have positions open... so bottom line is this; Apply if you are interested... it doesn't committ you to anything other than a small amount of work to get your application in.
To Apply:
go to - www.usajobs.gov
under the keyword search enter - NPS-FIRE-2010-020
under the location search enter - Cedar City
Press Enter!
The only position that should come up is the following announcement
NPS-FIRE-2010-020
Helitack Wildland Firefighter GS3/4/5 Seasonal
Please read through the entire application prior to following the directions for application which are on the How To Apply tab.
IMPORTANT: January 26,2010 will be the cut off date for early consideration.
Often times we will not pull another certificate following this early consideration, as we typically have enough interested candidates that no further consideration is necessary!
So there you have it... the announcement is out! I highly recommend that you apply early! (Prior to January 26,2010) It is also recommended that if you have any questions concerning the job, you call the Helicopter Program Manager his number will be listed below...
Again, there is no known position that will be available... however, the potential exists for a GS-5 senior firefighter and 1 to 3 additional GS 3/4 positions.
IMPORTANT: If you are a previous employee of Zion Helitack and wish to return after a break in service (i.e. you did not fight fire for us during the 2009 season), you should apply! This ensures that we are aware of your desire to return to the crew... If you are a member of Zion Helitack that fought fire seasonally during the 2009 season, and you wish to gain a different level of employement (i.e. you were a GS-4 in 2009, but would like to be a GS-5 in 2010), then you MUST apply to this announcement again. We cannot give a promotion to you without proper competition... Call you supervisor with any questions regarding this post.
We look forward to seeing a large number of applicants... so apply early and be thorough!
Zion Helitack
Helicopter Program Manager
Michael Reid - 435-865-4640
or you may e-mail your questions to zionhelitack@live.com
Good Luck!
Zion Helitack will be looking at the potential for one GS-5 senior firefighter position, and 1-3 GS 3 or 4 firefighter positions. There is never a gaurantee that these positions will be available as we often offer returning crewmembers the opportunity to occupy the same position that had the year previous. What we can gaurantee you is that without applying you will not have the opportunity to be considered for employement, should we have positions open... so bottom line is this; Apply if you are interested... it doesn't committ you to anything other than a small amount of work to get your application in.
To Apply:
go to - www.usajobs.gov
under the keyword search enter - NPS-FIRE-2010-020
under the location search enter - Cedar City
Press Enter!
The only position that should come up is the following announcement
NPS-FIRE-2010-020
Helitack Wildland Firefighter GS3/4/5 Seasonal
Please read through the entire application prior to following the directions for application which are on the How To Apply tab.
IMPORTANT: January 26,2010 will be the cut off date for early consideration.
Often times we will not pull another certificate following this early consideration, as we typically have enough interested candidates that no further consideration is necessary!
So there you have it... the announcement is out! I highly recommend that you apply early! (Prior to January 26,2010) It is also recommended that if you have any questions concerning the job, you call the Helicopter Program Manager his number will be listed below...
Again, there is no known position that will be available... however, the potential exists for a GS-5 senior firefighter and 1 to 3 additional GS 3/4 positions.
IMPORTANT: If you are a previous employee of Zion Helitack and wish to return after a break in service (i.e. you did not fight fire for us during the 2009 season), you should apply! This ensures that we are aware of your desire to return to the crew... If you are a member of Zion Helitack that fought fire seasonally during the 2009 season, and you wish to gain a different level of employement (i.e. you were a GS-4 in 2009, but would like to be a GS-5 in 2010), then you MUST apply to this announcement again. We cannot give a promotion to you without proper competition... Call you supervisor with any questions regarding this post.
We look forward to seeing a large number of applicants... so apply early and be thorough!
Zion Helitack
Helicopter Program Manager
Michael Reid - 435-865-4640
or you may e-mail your questions to zionhelitack@live.com
Good Luck!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Short-haul or Rappel
There are many crews that have added valuable tools (skills) to supplement their capabilities as a helitack crew. Two tools that often carry a lot of hype are Rappel and Short-haul. Rappel is of course what you would imagine. It typically involves two rappelers and a spotter working out of a helicopter allowing for access to terrain and vegatation that would be difficult to land in.
The practice of Short-haul is fairly well regulated, and requires the right skilled people with a very skilled pilot. There are no reported accidents or injuries using NPS helicopters to do Short-haul. Many years ago, there was a death during a Short-haul evolution when a military aircraft performed a similar style of extraction and inadvertantly drug a patient through the trees... killing the individual. So it is conservative to say that Short-haul is also a risky tool that we utilize.
So this is the question that has come up recently... could Short-haul be utilized as a tool to insert firefighters the same as rappel. Are the risks greater than that of rappel? Could risk be mitigated if a crew was not utilizing both tools (i.e. rappel to insert firefighters, short-haul to rescue victims)? Recently Short-haul has been approved to insert law enforcement into locations for the seizing of marijuana plantations, could the same tool then be utilized for firefighters?
Rappelers can decend from the helicopter at great speed from varying heights up to 250 feet above the ground. It takes a skilled pilot, and a lot of training for the crew to obtain this skill and remain proficient in its use. Many agencies within land management have excercised this practice. It is utilized primarily by firefighters that are looking to gain access to fires that are in very remote locations, typically wilderness.
Rappel requires that a pilot pull into a hover over a predetermined location. Upon inspection of the location, a spotter will drop ropes out of either side of the helicopter. Once the ropes have reached the ground and following a series of checks, the spotter will tell the rappelers to go to the skids. Once each rappeler has taken his/her position on the skids and all looks good to the spotter... the word is given to rappel. Both rappelers will then negotiate their way off of the skids and into a free slide rappel. Rappeling has an inherent risk associated with it... there are a lot of checks and training that takes place to ensure that no accidents occur, however despite every effort there is the occasional injury associated with rappeling. Until recently those injuries have typically been minor in nature, however this last year the first recorded death associated with rappeling occured.
Short-haul is a practice that is primarily exercised by the National Park Service, and some state agencies. It has been utilized almost exclusively for Search and Rescue activities. The practice of Short-haul requires incredible skills by the pilot and a well trained group of individuals to perform the Short-haul. In Short-haul individual technitions are connected to the bottom of a long line and lifted from one location to be delivered to another location. It is primarily a life saving activity used for extracting injured individuals that require medical attention.
The practice of Short-haul is fairly well regulated, and requires the right skilled people with a very skilled pilot. There are no reported accidents or injuries using NPS helicopters to do Short-haul. Many years ago, there was a death during a Short-haul evolution when a military aircraft performed a similar style of extraction and inadvertantly drug a patient through the trees... killing the individual. So it is conservative to say that Short-haul is also a risky tool that we utilize.
So this is the question that has come up recently... could Short-haul be utilized as a tool to insert firefighters the same as rappel. Are the risks greater than that of rappel? Could risk be mitigated if a crew was not utilizing both tools (i.e. rappel to insert firefighters, short-haul to rescue victims)? Recently Short-haul has been approved to insert law enforcement into locations for the seizing of marijuana plantations, could the same tool then be utilized for firefighters?
We want to know what you think about this topic... on the right there is a survey that asks the question, feel free to give your opinion by answering that survey. However, I would suggest that you add a comment (whether you want to be annonymous or not) by clicking on the comment box at the bottom of this post... give us your two cents about the topic... particularly, do you think it is a viable alternative to rappel... and if so or if not, why?
waiting to publish your comments,
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Mill Flat Fire
This season has been different... and the terminology attached to that difference was "Fire for Resource Benefit". Many members of the crew felt that we should have made up some T-shirts that prominently displayed "Fire for Resource Benefit Tour of '09"!
Mill Flat was one of those fires... It started mid season and spent the better part of a month creeping around the wilderness of the Pine Valley Mountains. For the most part doing some good for the resource... This fire ended in controversy and pain! We do not pretend to understand nor do we pass judgement on the decisions made concerning the management of this fire. Our job is to be available to support those decisions made... early on the decision was made that this naturally occuring fire would be left to its own agenda in the wilderness. Mother Nature was in control, and fire managers took a sideline seat to monitor and observe what she had in store...
This was the unfortunate result... a fire that quickly spread downhill out of the wilderness and into the town of New Harmony. Again, we do not wish to question or second guess what decisions were made... we want to focus on the role we took once the fire became unruley.
The picture above is of a retardent drop from a heavy air-tanker... this photo was taken the morning after the big push into town. New Harmony was not out of the woods... a lot of damage had been at this point but the threat of further damage was still very real. At this point a Type I incident management team had been ordered and Zion Helitack was engaged in establishing a base of operations for the large amount of helicopters that were already on order.
As you can see in this picture... the fire still had a lot of vegatation and topography that it was able to march across. It is difficult to see in this picture, so I will describe what was occuring. A wall of fire that was backing downslope, against the wind, allowing for dramatic uphill runs!
New Harmony was definately on the edge of the continued threat... several homes had already been lost, and many more homeowners were still nervous about the coming hours and days. The tension in town was thick! Many people had (and still do) emotional opinions concerning the decisions made about this fire, and the continued efforts of the fire fighters on the ground. We did our best to be understanding of the situation they were in, while trying to focus on the job we must do... The above picture was taken from town, and shows just how close the fire was and the altered veiw of the landscape that most will live with for many years.
On a positive note... a look to the East still holds a dramatic veiw of Kolob! It reminded us of the extreme oposites that Mother Nature can be... The gorgeous vista compared to the destructive power of a wildfire.
Back to our role... above, a picture of Zion Helitack crewmembers discussing the fire and their current roles. Hamm had been given the opportunity to work on the Color Country handcrew. She found us setting up a heliwell along her division and took the time to chat with Thayer and Damron about the events of the night prior.
She was obviously having a good time... it is always good to have a change of pace. We all love what we do on Zion Helitack... however, getting the chance to play a different role in fire is a welcome change... and Hamm was soaking up every minute of it!
Initially a 6000 gallon pumpkin (foreground) was established for the engines that were engaged in structure protection. We were asked to switch gears and establish a water source for the large helicopter show that had already engaged the fire. So we set up this 15,000 gallon Heliwell (transported to us from McCall Idaho)...
We had set up two Heliwells, both 15,000 gallon! This one was established a little further away from the fire in the foreseeable chance that the fire would smoke in the other water sources. We did a lot of work to ensure that the air show would not be slowed due to a lack of water. These large Heliwells are a monster to put together... but they are so valuable when you have large heavy helicopters looking for water. This one was brought to us from Richfield Utah.
Mill Flat was one of those fires... It started mid season and spent the better part of a month creeping around the wilderness of the Pine Valley Mountains. For the most part doing some good for the resource... This fire ended in controversy and pain! We do not pretend to understand nor do we pass judgement on the decisions made concerning the management of this fire. Our job is to be available to support those decisions made... early on the decision was made that this naturally occuring fire would be left to its own agenda in the wilderness. Mother Nature was in control, and fire managers took a sideline seat to monitor and observe what she had in store...
This was the unfortunate result... a fire that quickly spread downhill out of the wilderness and into the town of New Harmony. Again, we do not wish to question or second guess what decisions were made... we want to focus on the role we took once the fire became unruley.
The picture above is of a retardent drop from a heavy air-tanker... this photo was taken the morning after the big push into town. New Harmony was not out of the woods... a lot of damage had been at this point but the threat of further damage was still very real. At this point a Type I incident management team had been ordered and Zion Helitack was engaged in establishing a base of operations for the large amount of helicopters that were already on order.
As you can see in this picture... the fire still had a lot of vegatation and topography that it was able to march across. It is difficult to see in this picture, so I will describe what was occuring. A wall of fire that was backing downslope, against the wind, allowing for dramatic uphill runs!
New Harmony was definately on the edge of the continued threat... several homes had already been lost, and many more homeowners were still nervous about the coming hours and days. The tension in town was thick! Many people had (and still do) emotional opinions concerning the decisions made about this fire, and the continued efforts of the fire fighters on the ground. We did our best to be understanding of the situation they were in, while trying to focus on the job we must do... The above picture was taken from town, and shows just how close the fire was and the altered veiw of the landscape that most will live with for many years.
On a positive note... a look to the East still holds a dramatic veiw of Kolob! It reminded us of the extreme oposites that Mother Nature can be... The gorgeous vista compared to the destructive power of a wildfire.
Back to our role... above, a picture of Zion Helitack crewmembers discussing the fire and their current roles. Hamm had been given the opportunity to work on the Color Country handcrew. She found us setting up a heliwell along her division and took the time to chat with Thayer and Damron about the events of the night prior.
She was obviously having a good time... it is always good to have a change of pace. We all love what we do on Zion Helitack... however, getting the chance to play a different role in fire is a welcome change... and Hamm was soaking up every minute of it!
Initially a 6000 gallon pumpkin (foreground) was established for the engines that were engaged in structure protection. We were asked to switch gears and establish a water source for the large helicopter show that had already engaged the fire. So we set up this 15,000 gallon Heliwell (transported to us from McCall Idaho)...
We had set up two Heliwells, both 15,000 gallon! This one was established a little further away from the fire in the foreseeable chance that the fire would smoke in the other water sources. We did a lot of work to ensure that the air show would not be slowed due to a lack of water. These large Heliwells are a monster to put together... but they are so valuable when you have large heavy helicopters looking for water. This one was brought to us from Richfield Utah.We spent a lot of time supporting the Mill Flat fire... from initial recons when it was still considered a fire doing good for the wilderness to establishing multiple helibases to run the large air show that would fight the fire out of control to the transport of weather stations up the hill that will monitor rain fall and the potential for flooding... it was a long duration fire! A lot of lessons were learned from this fire... some of which were very upsetting to the community and the local land managers... the most important lesson, which seems to be one that is learned over and over again, is that Mother Nature is difficult to predict and even harder to control!
cheers,
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