FIGHTING THE DAY FIRE BY AIR -- IT'S WAR WITHOUT THE SHOOTING.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
LOCKWOOD VALLEY - Dave Cox Dave Cox is a Republican member of the California Senate, representing the 1st District since 2005. His district includes all or portions of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Placer, Plumas, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Sacramento and Sierra Counties. ran a hand over his four-day stubble, adjusted his aviator sunglasses sunglasses A tinted pair of glasses used to ↓ light arriving at the eye, which are labeled according to the amount of UV light blocked; nonprescription glasses are classified according to use and amount of UV radiation blocked Sunglasses and stared into the smoke-filled sky crackling crack·ling n. 1. The production of a succession of slight sharp snapping noises. 2. cracklings The crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose. with the sound of whirling whirl v. whirled, whirl·ing, whirls v.intr. 1. To revolve rapidly about a center or an axis. See Synonyms at turn. 2. helicopter blades. He zeroed in on one of his buddies returning to base in his Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter after making a water drop on the massive Day Fire. An Army veteran who flew helicopters in the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. , Cox smiled to himself. It could have been 1968 all over again. ``There's still a lot of us old farts from Vietnam around, but nobody's shooting at us anymore,'' said Cox, 62. ``I'll tell you one thing: Fightin' fires is a lot less stressful than fightin' wars. But it's still borderline chaos out there.'' Melt away four decades and 30 pounds, darken dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. the silver hair, and these guys still look like they just walked off the movie set of ``Apocalypse Now.'' Tough. Ready. Dripping with sweat and bravado bra·va·do n. pl. bra·va·dos or bra·va·does 1. a. Defiant or swaggering behavior: strove to prevent our courage from turning into bravado. b. . Just give them the flight plan and get out of the way. With full gas tanks, the former military helicopters Military helicopters are helicopters used by military forces. They can be found in a variety of roles in diffferent militaries of which the tactical airlift mission is the most common. these men fly each carry 1,000 gallons of water to drop on the fire that has burned stubbornly for nearly a month. But with gas tanks hovering near empty, they can handle the weight of 2,500 gallons sucked from nearby lakes and ponds. The pilots smile, doing the math. It makes more sense to douse douse 1 also dowse v. doused also dowsed, dous·ing also dows·ing, dous·es also dows·es v.tr. 1. To plunge into liquid; immerse. See Synonyms at dip. 2. the blazing trees and underbrush with 2,500 gallons of water than 1,000, right? What's the big deal? Nobody's shooting back. Cox, Steve Dillman, and a half-dozen other pilots who flew in Vietnam have been fighting the blaze that authorities hope to have under control on Monday. They're used to long tours of duty. As young men, they flew Huey helicopters on dozens of missions in Vietnam to support and protect U.S. troops on the ground. Now, nearly 40 years later, they're flying Sikorsky Skycrane helicopters to support and protect firefighters on the ground. They don't belong to any fire department. They're freelance gunslingers working for private companies that contract with the U.S. Forest Service. After Vietnam, many of them went to work for private air cargo air cargo: see aviation. outfits or commercial airlines that forced them to retire at age 60. But they weren't ready to hang it up. They still had a few more fights in them. The pilots have fought forest fires This is a list of notorious forest fires: North America Year Size Name Area Notes 1825 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) Miramichi Fire New Brunswick Killed 160 people. in more than a dozen states this year -- but none lasting longer then this one. ``These guys come to work in March and April, and don't go home until November, when the fire season is over,'' says Mike Gilpin, chief pilot for Heavylift Helicopter in Apple Valley, where 62-year-old Dillman works. ``There's always a forest fire to fight somewhere in the country. When there's not, they go home and finish their honey-do lists until I need them next March. ``All my command pilots flew attack helicopters in 'Nam. Fighting forest fires is like combat to them -- without anyone shooting back.'' The alarm clock in Dillman's motel room in Lebec goes off at 5 a.m. The pilot wants to be at Lockwood Valley helibase, 20 minutes away, by sunrise -- ready to fly. The 4,000 firefighters battling this stubborn fire on the ground sleep in tents or trailers, or return to their stations for the night. The helicopter pilots sleep at local motels. It takes $3 million to $5 million a year to keep these mammoth Skycranes operating and staffed, Gilbert says. ``It's a very complicated, expensive piece of equipment they're flying. You don't want your pilots tossing and turning all night in a tent, then flying over burning treetops tired.'' Not that the boss should worry, Dillman says. Sure, fighting fires is not fighting a war, but the adrenaline rush is still there. Like Cox says, no one's shooting back, but it's still borderline chaos out there. ``You get in too close, in the real heavy smoke, and these engines will shut down on you in a sec,'' Dillman says. ``You got to be careful, but you still got to do your job, and that's putting out this damn fire.'' By dusk, Cox, who flies for Evergreen Aviation in Oregon, Dillman and the other pilots are headed to dinner and back to their motels after making more than a half-dozen water drops each. The pilots are allowed to fly a maximum of eight hours a day -- and work a total of no more than 12 hours. With a little more than a month to go before the fire season is officially over for the year, the pilots are looking forward to going home to their families and honey-do lists. But when the phone rings next March, and the boss says he needs you on a forest fire somewhere in the country, they'll pack up and go. ``We can't help ourselves, I guess,'' Cox says, smiling. ``Somebody needs our help, we go. We did it in 'Nam, and we're still doing it.'' Living life in borderline chaos. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Helicopter pilot Dave Cox waits for an order to fly during the Day Fire in the Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. . Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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