On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 10:00 PM, Alan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Bob La Quey wrote: > > > On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 9:35 PM, Andrew Lentvorski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > > Legatus wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > I work with the NWCG, and they are quite aware of the value, and lack > of > > > > value to water drops. They also know the value of keeping the > politicos > > > > > > > out > > > > > > > of their business. Water drops keep the politicians and public happy > with > > > > the efforts. They don't hesitate to shift these resources to a place > that > > > > the water drops would be helpful, when it is appropriate. The pilots > are > > > > > > > not > > > > > > > naive about their role and when it is effective, and when it is not. > > > > Basically they will deliver water drops constantly, because if they > don't, > > > > then they have to deal with the political and PR fallout. When there > is a > > > > useful place for the drops, then that is where they will happen. > There > > > > > > > is > > > > > > > also constant experimentation with chemical fire suppressors that may > > > > increase the effectiveness of air drops by large margins. > > > > > > > > > > > My expectation was that the water drops were actually more useful in > > > targeted situations (small flareups that threaten to restart, saturating > > > areas to prevent the fire from moving toward your ground staff, etc.), > but > > > that you had to be "en route" already to be useful in those situations. > > > > > > I don't expect that air firefighting is useful in stalling the general > > > conflagration. In fact, about the only thing that I presume is truly > useful > > > for fighting these fires is actually bulldozing a firebreak and > patrolling > > > it. Everything else has fairly minimal impact. > > > > > > -a > > > > > > > I still do not know what NWCG is. I could Google but I find > > it irritating that someone who lives in the bureaucracy > > (apparently) just naturally assumes we should know what the > > acronym means. > > > > > > National Wildfire Coordinating Group > It's the umbrella government org for wildland firefighters. > > <http://www.nwcg.gov/> > > -ajb
Thank you Alan. BobLQ -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
