First Aerial Firefighting Conference in United States History Held in California

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Over 250 fire service professionals from around the world gathered on February 19th and 20th at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Garden Grove, California for the Aerial Firefighting Conference presented by Tangent Link. This conference was the first of its kind held in the United States, and the second one in the world, the first occurring in Athens, Greece in 2008. Representatives from aerial firefighting agencies and support organizations came from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China and Japan to discuss their experiences and share knowledge about topics relating to fixed and rotary wing aerial firefighting.

One of the main underlying topics that speakers and attendees addressed at the Aerial Firefighting Conference was that of funding. With economic hardship plaguing the world, the issue of budgetary problems and solutions was the focus of many.

Del Walters, the newly appointed Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), was a keynote speaker at the conference. In an interview with FDNNTV.com, Walters said that his priority this year will be to secure the necessary resources and manpower to be effective in fighting wildfires. Despite the controversial California State Budget, which may slash funding for wildfire suppression, Walters is confident that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will give the necessary funding to Cal Fire as he has in previous years through an Executive Order. Walters and his staff are in discussions now with the Governor's Office about implementing an Executive Order for the 2009 fire season.

Tom Harbour, the US Forest Service's Fire and Aviation Management Director, is worried about the future impact of the current national budget crisis. "My big concern is probably not next year or the year after. It's what's going to happen in five or ten years from now."

Special Operations Battalion Chief Ray Chaney from Cal Fire's Ramona Air Attack Base in San Diego County says that as stewards of the taxpayers' dollar, his agency strives to use tax money most prudently and effectively. While doing this, he and other Cal Fire officers work to continue to provide the appropriate tactical support for the firefighters who are battling the wildfires.

Echoing this, Chief Anthony Marrone of the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Air Operations Division says of his agency's budget and resources, "Our budgets are going to be looked at and scrutinized more. It is just going to require us to be more efficient with what we have and maybe to share our resources more with one another."

Bob Cavage and Tony Morris of the Wildfire Research Network, a non-profit organization that has worked extensively to raise public awareness about the need for increased funding for aerial firefighting, were guest speakers at the conference. Underlining the problems that plague those who are trying to secure this funding, Bob Cavage, the President of the Wildfire Research Network, says, "There's a lot of competition for government money. Also, the culture in the firefighting service does not permit them to go into areas of finding new solutions. That typically comes from the commercial sector, the private sector." In an effort to make the Obama administration aware of the need for aerial firefighting funding, Cavage and Morris will be traveling to Washington D.C. on March 8th to meet with government officials.

Summarizing the thoughts of many of the conference attendees on the budget issues as they relate to aerial firefighting, Tony Morris says, "With the focus now on trying to save the economy, which is absolutely essential, somewhere in there has to be our ability to address wildfires because they don't care whether the budget is balanced. They occur."

Speakers from aerial firefighting agencies around the world addressed the group about other issues, as well. One of these professionals was Richard Alder, the General Manager of Australia's National Aerial Firefighting Center. He discussed the horrible tragedy that befell Australia earlier this year. Terming it "Black Saturday", Alder described February 9, 2009 as the beginning of the worst wildfire in the country's history, leaving over 200 people dead and thousands homeless.

In his speech, Alder described the inability of his aerial firefighters and ground-based firefighters to attack the main fire due to terrible conditions, with temperatures at 118 degrees Fahrenheit and 10% or less humidity. According to Alder, "Once the fire had developed, there was absolutely no possibility at all of attacking the head fire from the ground or the air. On the fire that we were working on, we were asked at one stage to try and get around to the head fire because of some of those communities that were threatened. The closest we could get to the head fire was six miles by G.P.S. because of the smoke and conditions. Simply no aircraft would've been able to get anywhere near that situation."

The Aerial Firefighting Conference was a success on all levels. Later this year, another one will be held in Australia to be followed by one in Rome, Italy. For further information about these conferences please visit the Tangent Link website.

Other Videos Relating to the Aerial Firefighting Conference:

The full video interview with Bob Cavage and Tony Morris of the Wildfire Research Network can be viewed by clicking here.