Edgemont is a city in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 725 at the 2020 census. The city lies on the far southern edge of the Black Hills in southwestern South Dakota.
Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing aircraft, or rappelling from helicopters. Chemicals used to fight fires may include water, water enhancers such as foams and gels, and specially formulated fire retardants such as Phos-Chek.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is a public-use airport located in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. The airport is owned and operated by Jefferson County and is situated midway between Denver and Boulder on U.S. Highway 36. It is located 16 miles (26 km) northwest of the central business district of Denver, and is the closest airport to downtown Denver. The airport covers 1,700 acres (688 ha) and has three runways. Formerly known as Jefferson County Airport or Jeffco Airport, the airport was renamed Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on October 10, 2006, although it is sometimes referred to as Rocky Mountain Regional Airport, e.g., on 2007–2012 county planning documents.
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfire. Because of this wildfire suppression in wild land areas usually requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed aerial firefighting aircraft, fire engines, tools, firefighting foams, fire retardants, and using various firefighting techniques, wildfire-trained crews work to suppress flames, construct fire lines, and extinguish flames and areas of heat in order to protect resources and natural wilderness. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland–urban interface, where populated areas border with wild land areas.
The DC-10 Air Tanker is a series of American wide-body jet air tankers, which have been in service as an aerial firefighting unit since 2006. The aircraft, operated by the joint technical venture 10 Tanker Air Carrier, are converted wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 passenger jetliners, and are primarily used to fight wildfires, typically in rural areas. The turbofan-powered aircraft carry up to 9,400 US gallons of water or fire retardant in an exterior belly-mounted tank, the contents of which can be released in eight seconds. Four air tankers are currently in operation, all DC-10-30 aircraft, with the call-signs Tanker 910, 911, 912 and 914. The original Tanker 910, a DC-10-10, was retired in 2014.
The Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) is a self-contained unit used for aerial firefighting that can be loaded onto both military cargo transport Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Embraer C-390 Millennium, which then allows the aircraft to be used as an air tanker against wildfires. This allows the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to use military aircraft from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve to serve as an emergency backup resource to the civilian air tanker fleet.
In 2002, two large airtankers – a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer – crashed about a month apart while performing aerial firefighting operations. These crashes prompted a review of the maintenance and use of the entire U.S. large airtanker fleet. Ultimately, the whole fleet was grounded, dramatically reducing the resources available to fight major wildfires. Both aircraft were owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming and operated under contract to the United States Forest Service (USFS). The crashes occurred in one of the worst fire seasons in the last half century, one in which 73,000 fires burned 7.2 million acres (29,000 km2) of land.
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.
Aero Union Corporation was an aircraft operation and maintenance company based in Chico, California, United States. It was known for operating aerial firefighting aircraft, training crews and making custom designed firefighting systems tailored to specific aircraft requirements. After years of controversies regarding the operation of the company and the safety of its aircraft, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) canceled its contract, and the company was forced to shut down soon after.
The 747 Supertanker is a retired aerial firefighting airtanker derived from various Boeing 747 models. The aircraft is rated to carry up to 19,600 US gallons (74,000 L) of fire retardant or water. It is the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.
The 2008 California wildfire season was one of the most devastating in the state of the 21st century. While 6,255 fires occurred, about two-thirds as many as in 2007, the total area burned— 1,593,690 acres —far exceeded that of previous years.
The Shanta Creek Wildfire was a lightning caused forest fire that started on June 29, 2009 in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. More than 13,000 acres were burned and over 400 personnel were involved in the firefighting effort.
The Wallow Fire was a wildfire that started in the White Mountains near Alpine, Arizona on May 29, 2011. It was named for the Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, The fire eventually spread across the stateline into western New Mexico, United States. By the time the fire was contained on July 8, it had consumed 538,049 acres (2,177 km2) of land, 522,642 acres (2,115 km2) in Arizona and 15,407 acres (62 km2) in New Mexico. It was the largest wildfire in Arizona history.
The Long Draw Fire was a wildfire started by a lightning strike on July 8, 2012 that burned 557,648 acres (2,257 km2) acres in southeastern Oregon, in the Western United States. It was Oregon's largest wildfire since the 1865 Silverton Fire which burned over 1 million acres.
Air Spray (1967) Ltd. trading as Air Spray Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Air Spray USA Inc of Chico, California is a private company specializing in aerial wildfire suppression using air tanker or water bomber aircraft. Air Spray was owned and operated by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame inductee, Donald T. Hamilton until his death in 2011. The company continued to be owned and operated by his daughter, Lynn Hamilton, of Foothills, Alberta.
The Lake Fire was a wildfire that burned in the San Bernardino National Forest. The fire started on June 17, 2015, and burned over 31,359 acres before it was fully contained on July 21, 2015.
The Lava Fire was a wildfire that burned over 21,500 acres (87 km2) of Oregon rangeland during the summer of 2012. The fire began on 23 July 2012, the result of a lightning strike. The fire consumed rangeland vegetation and scrub forest located in and around lava beds in northern Lake County. The burned area was on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management including a large area within a wilderness study area. Firefighters battled the blaze for over three weeks. At the peak of the firefighting effort, there were over 275 personnel working on the fire.
On 31 July 2010, a Convair CV-580 Airtanker aircraft operated by Conair Aviation crashed while on a firefighting mission near Lytton, British Columbia, Canada. Both crew members, the only people on board, were killed.
Neptune Aviation Services Inc. is an aerial firefighting company based out of Missoula International Airport in Missoula, Montana. It provides aerial support and firefighting to the United States, Canada, Chile and throughout the world. Founded in 1993, Neptune Aviation is known for aerial firefighting, aviation maintenance, fixed-base operator and air charter operations.
