AVIATORS TRAIN ON VIRTUAL FIRES FIRE SEASON KICKS OFF TODAY WITH EXTRA STAFF.

Byline: Steve Geissinger Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Dennis Brown thunders through blinding smoke over Southern California in an ex-Army Cobra gunship helicopter converted to help battle wildfires.

Using the Cobra's smoke-piercing infrared vision gear, the U.S. Forest Service aviator sees the raging flames and transmits data to tankers and helicopters, ready for fire-extinguishing drops to save homes.

It all looks real, but Brown is playing a role in an aerial firefighting simulator - a complex government video game of sorts that models real-life firefighting.

``This world-class mission simulator will allow the Forest Service to do a better job on training, maintenance and aging aircraft issues,'' said Brown, the aviation safety officer for the region that includes California.

Today marks the beginning of fire season, when all California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection units statewide will have augmented their regular force with seasonal hires and around-the-clock staffing.

The $300,000 simulator, unveiled last week at the former McClellan Air Force Base, comes after a series of deadly air tanker crashes in recent years around the United States.

For decades, the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies have fought wildfires with the help of tankers converted from retired military planes. Mostly World War II-era bombers and cargo planes and submarine hunters from the 1950s, the planes drop a chemical fire retardant to aid firefighters on the ground.

But mounting crashes - including incidents where planes broke apart in midair - prompted government officials last year to ground most of the big aging planes.

Pilots' widows in April filed a lawsuit accusing the federal government of improper maintenance and modification of the planes. Roughly two-thirds of the large air-tanker fleet remains grounded over safety issues, with just 16 expected to be in the air nationwide during this summer's fire season.

Forest Service officials said they will rely on additional helicopters and small air tankers. In addition, eight Air National Guard planes nationwide can be converted to limited air-tanker duty.

Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has bolstered CDF funding by $7 million so the agency can field its entire fleet of 23 medium-size air tankers this fire season.

``We're once again preparing to battle wildfires,'' said CDF Director Dale Geldert. ``Temperatures are beginning to rise and vegetation is drying out.''

The simulator lets flight controllers and six pilots in different digital aircraft together attack a wildfire, just like in the real world.

The computer programming simulates the flying characteristics of the different aircraft. It also can create small, medium or large fires burning on hillsides or in canyons, at variable rates, wind speed and direction, Brown said.

Next year, the Forest Service plans to convert another Cobra so one can be stationed at each end of the state.

Steve Geissinger, [phone])

sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) The U.S. Forest Service unveiled at the former McClellan Air Force Base an aerial firefighting simulation center, the first of its kind, that duplicates cockpit conditions for aviators flying different types of planes over different kinds of wildfires.

(2) A federal helicopter and air tanker approach a wildfire in one of the scenarios provided in the U.S. Forest Service's simulation center.

U.S. Forest Service