Aerial Resources Assist With Fire Suppression Operations
Incident: Millie Fire Wildfire
Released: 9/16/2012
Bozeman, MT... A "local" red flag warning continued throughout yesterday which generated a significant amount of smoke into the air over the fire. Once again the increased amount of fire behavior was due to low relative humidity's (8-10%) and warmer temperatures. A small area on the northeast corner spotted down the canyon for approximately 162 acres; aerial resources continuously worked the area throughout the afternoon. The size of the fire is 10,347 acres at 75 percent contained; cooler temperatures and high relative humidity's today will grant some reprieve to suppression resources today.
To better facilitate movement of suppression resources; there will be two remote camps set up near the fire on South Cottonwood drainage. By placing crews in these remote camps, closer to the fire, this will alleviate travel time and place ground resources closer to the area where the fire is most active.
The crews on the southern portion of the fire are completing handline to secure any uncontained line and mopping up all hot spots.
Quite a few questions were asked by the public yesterday who watched the Sikorsky helicopter "snorkel" water from Hyalite Reservoir. The following are some brief facts about the Sikorsky "Skycrane" Type 1 Heavy Lift Helicopter:
The "Skycrane" was originally designed for the military and had interchangeable pods that fit underneath for troop transport and cargo movement. The S-64 has six rotor blades and two turbines powered jet engines, which allows it to carry heavy loads. In 1992, Erickson Air Crane purchased the manufacturing rights to the S-64 and modified it to carry a 2,650 gallon tank. The tank can be filled by a draft hose in less than one minute, while the helicopter is hovering. The S-64 requires a pilot and co-pilot to fly it and typically has a 6 to 8 person support crew. In addition, the helicopter can travel at cruising speeds up to 91knots or105 mph.
For more information, please contact the Millie Fire Information line at (406) 522-2537 and online at http://www.inciweb.org/.
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