By Donna Westfall — August 23, 2023
I got a call from a guy in the Bay Area asking, “Why don’t they call in the helicopters with 1,000 gallon buckets?
I had never heard of that before. Let’s do some research.
In Maui, high winds prevented helicopters from going in. The winds fueled the blaze. But when the winds died down, seawater was indeed used. The Pentagon activated the National Guard and sent in helicopters. Three CH-47D Chinook helicopters were used. Max speed 184 mph. Range 400 miles. 100,000 gallons of water was dumped on that fire and helped put it out. Seawater was used.
When I was told that my friend in the Bay Area called the Joint Command at 916 854 3440 and requested helicopters be sent in to our fire, he was told that only the Board of Supervisors or the Sheriff of Del Norte County could make that request.
He tried calling Sup. Valerie Starkey who ignored him. He tried calling others on the Board of Supervisors but got nowhere. He called me.
On Tuesday, August 22nd, I subsequently sent an URGENT email to the Sheriff with this information, but have not heard back from him. I also sent an email to all the Supervisors but have not heard back from any of them.
The next step is to ask our elected officials like Sen. Mike McGuire, Assemblyman Jim Wood, Congressman Jared Huffman and Gov. Gavin Newsom to do something. Public pressure would help. Here are their contact #’s:
Email and telephone numbers:
senator.mcguire@senate.ca.gov. – (916) 651-4002
assemblymember.wood@assembly.ca.gov – (916) 319-2002
John@jaredhuffman.com – (415) 258-9657
gavin.newsom@gov.ca.gov. – (916)-445-2841
What is that red stuff dumped on the fire from planes?
It’s a fire retardant. Someone said it’s cancer causing, however if it’s branded as Phos-Chek, not only is it less toxic, but it also contains fertilizers to help in the regrowth of plants after the fire. It is considered safe.
Webmaster it’s hard to know who to believe, they all know what to say to get people on their side and vote for them, please Everyone if your tired of higher taxes find out how the person you supported voted. Maybe change your vote… I’ve done this many time. Maybe we should have them write down on what they promise and send out copies just a thought.
If people would have gone to the fire update last night they would know that there are 3 DC 10’s that have been converted for fighting fires. I can’t remember the exact number of gallons of repellent they hold but safe to say at least 1,000 gallons if not more. Additionally there are 7 helicopters that are working as well and 2 drones getting Intel. The smoke affects the helicopters but recently we’ve had good weather to get them up.
Lastly there are approximately 1,200 boots on the ground. A majority are from Santa Barbara firefighters and considered the world’s best at what they do.
The mismanagement of our US wilderness floors should be under scrutiny in my opinion which falls on the feet of Chris Howard who gets paid twice annually to drive his districts roads and didn’t bother questioning the US Forest Service while piles of combustible leaves, twigs, and logs were left on the ground instead of picked up.
How come you didn’t mention Dean Wilson? He’s our supervisor in Bertsch Oceanview. He’s hard to get ahold of too. You supported him. You should be able to talk to him about why. There was no tankers. I talked to him, and he said he gets his information just like everybody else does. So why do we have him for a supervisor? David
I regret supporting Dean Wilson in his run for Supervisor. He spoke well when we interviewed him, but his actions prove that he is pro taxes and big government. I can no longer
support him and hope a good candidate will run against him in the 2024 race.