LAFD Helicopter Pilots Describe Water Drops, Challenges of Battling Palisades Fire in High Winds
Decision to Ground Aircraft Was “Super Difficult”
On the night of January 7, Dan Child and his copilot were coordinating aerial efforts to attack the Palisades fire when the winds became so strong they were struggling just to maintain altitude.
The two pilots realized they were losing 1,500 feet per minute in the nighttime sky and were continuing to get pushed down. The winds were too strong, it was time to call off air support until they subsided. An uncommon windstorm grounding a fleet of helicopters as they tried to extinguish flames to protect homes.
The decision, Child said, was “super difficult…probably one of the harder things I had (to do).”
“We as firemen want to solve the problem and put the fire out,” said Child, chief pilot with the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Air Operations Division. “But the (Federal Aviation Administration) looks at it like, that is a super hazardous attitude and one that gets people in a lot of trouble and accidents. From an aviation standpoint, that’s where you have to start separating it.”
Wind Speeds Factor in Decision to Ground Aircraft
Wind speeds factor in when deciding whether to ground aircraft. For the LAFD, the limitations are usually 40 knots (about 46 mph) with a 20-knot (about 23 mph) gust spread, said Brandon Prince, an LAFD lead pilot. The gust spread is the difference between sustained winds and peak wind gusts.
Near the time the decision was made to ground the helicopters, a wind reading at a nearby water station recorded 66 mph winds with 89 mph gusts. Child still had the screenshot on his phone while speaking at the Air Operations Division’s Van Nuys Airport base Tuesday.
Challenges of Battling the Fire
Using five medium-sized twin-engine helicopters, pilots, including Prince, battled heavy winds, while hovering 50 to 100 feet over steep terrain to drop thousands of gallons of water at pinpoint locations to extinguish columns of fire.
They worked in four-hour shifts, with eight hours in between to recuperate. LAFD hires its pilots from within after hundreds of hours of training. All of them start as ground firefighters, creating and strengthening a culture of teamwork between air and ground units.
Prince, a 10-year veteran of the Air Operations Division, said Child’s decision to ground aircraft until morning was the right one.
“There’s a time when you’re not getting effective,” Prince said. “When you can be flat pitch, on the ground at idle, getting fuel and the wind is so strong that it’s starting to lift up the helicopter, you’re no longer flying that helicopter. You’re no longer in control.”
Calculations and Adjustments
Hopping in the pilot’s seat of the Leonardo AW139, Prince and his fellow pilots would fly to a nearby water station to fill a tank that can hold upwards of 5,000 gallons. Listening to as many as six radios at once, positioned among some hundreds of buttons in between the two front seats of the helicopter, Prince is told which part of the fire to attack.
Not to mention the helicopter is operating at maximum gross weight, making it more difficult to maneuver. As the helicopter burns fuel, it can hold more water, but the difference between an empty water tank and one filled to maximum weight, Prince said, is like going from the power of a Porsche to a Honda Civic.
While en route to the drop spot, he’s calculating. What are the winds doing? What weather patterns is the fire creating? What kind of drop am I doing? Where does the helicopter need to be? Was the previous pilot’s drop successful and what did they do? How am I going to fly out after the drop?
Conclusion
The LAFD helicopter pilots’ bravery and skill in battling the Palisades fire in high winds is a testament to their training and dedication to their work. Despite the challenges they faced, they were able to make precision water drops and help contain the fire.
FAQs
Q: What are the limitations for LAFD aircraft in terms of wind speed?
A: The limitations are usually 40 knots (about 46 mph) with a 20-knot (about 23 mph) gust spread.
Q: How do pilots calculate their drops?
A: Pilots use a combination of factors, including wind direction and speed, weather patterns, and the type of fuel they are dropping.
Q: What kind of training do LAFD pilots receive?
A: LAFD pilots receive hundreds of hours of training, starting as ground firefighters and working their way up to becoming helicopter pilots.
Q: How do pilots communicate with each other and with ground units?
A: Pilots use radios to communicate with each other and with ground units, receiving feedback and instructions on their drops.
