5:08 pm est News reports a giant train fire at Prince George, British Columbia, the videos showed it spreading to the forest beside it, some say 2 trains were involved, but no news yet.
Some more here-
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/04/train-burning.html
And here-
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=100964&Itemid=239
Did the CBC reporter not look at the photographs or do you guys have orange water up there?
The “orange water” is fire retardant, it is coloured orange so it can be seen from the air after it is dumped and it is on the ground/trees etc. Helps with subsequent runs of the bombers.
This has the potential to be very bad for PG, as that hill above the tracks is quite steep and leads to the flat where the airport (and the water bombers) are located. The fire could get a good run and burn a fair chunk of timber, a lot of which is dead from mountain pine beetle.
I know, but someone needs to inform the reporter. He or she called the air tankers “water bombers.” I think it is funny that someone could see an aircraft dropping something orange and call the aircraft a water bomber.
Why do you think that is strange? He called that a “Water Bomber” because that is what they were called. The early ones were built from WW2 Bombers. They open doors on the bottom of the aircraft just like “Bomb Bay Doors”. While the aircraft do have tanks, they aren’t performing “tanking” like a KC-135 or KC-10 does.
I find it strange for two reasons. One is that I have always heard them called air tankers, perhaps they are known by different names depending on location. The second is, that it is while water is part of the retardant, the aircraft is dropping fire retardant. Since it is not dropping water, and I have never heard it called a water bomber, which it should not be called, it seems strange to see it called that. It might as well be called a borate bomber.
Exactly what it’s called down here in brushfire central. Had the chance last Wednesday to see the CDF Viking “borate bomber” in action about a half-mile from the house, along with a couple of water-dropping choppers. And plenty glad to see them, by the way.
Flames of orange don’t like the orange glop drop.
It’s perfectly correct usage - it’s a common designation inside (including the pilots themselves) and outside of the industry.
Everyone in British Columbia calls them Water Bombers, and they fight forest fires, not wild fires.
And we have the best water bombers in the World, the two Martin Mars water bombers here on Vancouver Island.
http://www.martinmars.com/
It must be geographical. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection calls them air tankers.
I have heard them called that. However, I heard that borate has not been used in several years. Also, the Viking is the S-3. I think you are refering to the S-2 Tracker.
It looks like a DC-3 in the picture.
Kurt
Conair runs severaltypes of water bombers/air tankers but none of them are DC-3s. Tough to tell from the small photo but looks like a DC-6. More info on Conair can be found here: www.conair.ca/
Water bombers is correct usage in Canada, as is forest fires, the plane in the photo is a converted Convair 340 or 440(correct me) There are plenty of water drops around a large fire, Also Canada makes a specific water bomber CL-215 (and up) that are sold all over the world but I believe the U.S. has banned them. From some of the replies it would seem these people never have to worry about forest fires. And the train wreck is not as bad as predicted, slow speed saved this one.
And more good news, the fire is reported as being under control.
I guess my biggest concern with the CBC article is the following:
“Water bombers were called in to help fight the fire, CBC reporter Chris Walker reported from the scene. However, they were not successful.”
Water bombers/air tankers are NOT used to put out fires, but rather to help control the spread. Having been in forestry in BC since 1979, my guess is the bombers were being used to lay down a line of retardant on the hillside and at each end of the fire to act as a fire guard (the Fraser River makes a rather good fire guard on the one side). That is what they are generally used for. Protect endangered property, they are good at that.
A helicopter with a water (monsoon) bucket is much more effective in helping to douse small fires but with the amount of fuel available to this fire, they would be ineffective as well except to put out small fires that had spotted into the surrounding woods.
Bombers or Tankers, whatever they’re called makes no difference and you are missing the point here…get real and concentrate on what’s important, fighting the fire.
What really is important here is how the ‘New CN’ constantly has these public spectacles. It looks bad for the company and I’m sure a few shareholders are beginning to wonder about the long term viability of the former Canadian National Railways. If the company insists on having these Procedural Errors, then at least have them at a location not under the scrutiny of the general public, media, and shareholders. It’ll sure make the Canadian government happy if the taxpayers didn’t know what is really happening on the ‘New CN’. Out of sight, out of mind. That’s how most of these problems are covered up.
The aircraft in the picture appears to be a converted P-3 Orion, the turboprop engines mounted above the wing are the giveaway.