In some instances, pilots need to provide suggestions to ground crews on how the fire is moving. Burger said Williams experience on the ground is an advantage now that he is in the air. Burger, no less a team player, has more than 20 years experience fighting fires by air. I ve devoted most of my life to it, he said. Our first concern is safety for individuals on the ground.
Fire can move fast.
We don t want to see any homes lost, but primarily we do not want to see any lives lost. The goal of the DNRC Fire and Aviation Unit is to keep 95 percent of the fires they respond to from burning more than 10 acres in populated areas, Williams said. Just a few weeks into the season, the pilots have helping to meet that goal fairly well. In fact, since Monday morning 12 new spot fires were successfully extinguished before burning more than five acres. If you wish to receive the newspaper on your doorstep or before this time, please subscribe .