One of the best reasons for fire season I think is the onslaught of various aircraft throughout the northstate. No matter how hard a firefighter (ground-pounder) is working on the line, seeing the tanker fly over or hearing a helicopter in the distance always makes them more at ease. If something ever got sticky they would have help pretty quick. When I photograph an incident I always look forward to snapping a tanker as it drops its load, or a huge Sikorsky Sky Crane helicopter sucking up water to drop on a nearby fire. These huge bulky aircraft flying gracefully in the air and able to drop into a canyon to drop its load has always put wonder in my mind.
Monitoring these aircraft is a whole other world of radio! The Air Attack ship floats way above the fire directing all the traffic below including numerous tankers and helicopters. With 8 tankers, 4 copters, a medical copter, and leadplane in the air all at once over a fire, things can get crowded quick. A fire can be no more than a few square miles in area and still have 4 tankers and 2 copters flying around! In the air, those 2 square miles are very compacted when you fill it with 2 copters, 4 tankers and the air attack ship above all. You will hear the aerial acrobatics, tactics, and daily routine of the aircraft every day as you monitor them on the radio. Check out the sites to the left to read all about the area Air Attack Bases, Helitack Bases and how to monitor the aircraft over a radio.