Saturday's Internet Edition, July 31, 2010.
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| M & M Air Service ground crew members reload one of the air tankers with retardent so that the plane can get back in the air enroute to the burning fire. |
- This is the time of year when temperatures reach or exceed 100 degrees nearly every day. Along with these hot, dry days comes the very real possibility of thunderstroms over West Texas and with them comes lightning strikes.
Lightning strikes cause real problems in the region because they set the land afire, burning brush, trees and grass and hindering wildlife management efforts.
This is where the Texas Forest Service, armed with federal monies to fight fires, comes into play.
The Texas Forest Service has a regional office in Ft. Stockton which monitors fires all across West Texas. They also control the resources to fight any fires.
They put ground units into play first, attempting to control the burn with them. If, however, the fires start to get out of hand, they call in air tankers strategically located around the region.
Van Horn currently has two of these air tankers located at our airport to respond when directed. The dispatch originates at the Ft. Stockton center and comes to the Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) Manager located at the Van Horn airport.
He is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife employee stationed here while the fire danger is greatest.
Once he receives a dispatch, he immediately dispatches the two locally based air tankers who start their engines and move into position to be loaded with the water, fertilizer and clay mixture which composes the fire retardent. Each tanker carries between 750 - 800 gallons of retardent per trip (That is about 2,400 pounds plus).
As they head out to take off, the pilots load in the GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates of the fires location and any frequencies needed to talk to fire coordinators in the air and on the ground.
The take off and climb out is harrowing because of the weight in retardent being carried, as well as the aircraft weight, and density altitude. Marc Mullins, one of the pilots, said, “We normally are able to achieve a 75 foot per minute climb rate and it takes us all the way to the fire site to achieve enough altitude to drop the retardent on the fire.”
Once they arrive at the fire location, they coordinate with folks on the ground or in the air as to exactly where to place the retardent and in one pass they dump the entire 800 gallons.
Whereupon, they return to Van Horn where crew members, from M & M Air Service, on the ground quickly refill the tankers with more retardent and they head back out again.
And, they do this until they run out of daylight or the fire is brought under control.
When the day is concluded, crew members and ground personnel get the planes ready to go for the next day before they call it a day.
The aircraft located here are huge tankers powered by 1,400 hoursepower turbine engines. They are operated by M & M Air Service and are managed by Larry Mills, out of M & M’s San Angelo office.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
JUBILEE 2010.... “And a good time was had by all!” That may be a little cliché sounding, but how else do you describe this past weekend. And how do you say thanks enough for the great committee who pulled it off? Something that big doesn’t just go smoothly without a lot of coordinating and planning, which Lyndon and Linda McDonald, Jannine Heath, Brenda Hinojos and Mark and Laurie Lange did so well. Thanks also to the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club and 4-H Club for the big events involving food for such a crowd. Of course there are many to thank and Lyndon has done that in another place in this issue of the Advocate.
It was fun just to stand back and watch as old friends saw each other for the first time in many years. There was lots of hugging and laughing, and expressions on faces that said, “I know I should know you and I’m glad you have a name tag on.” Yes, some have changed that much, and then there are those who have changed very little except for maybe those few extra pounds and a little graying of the hair. Many were recognizable by remembering what their parents looked like ‘back then’. But looks don’t matter after a few minutes, because you are back in high school with the person that shares those memories of happy times here in Van Horn.
Many have asked just how many people there were in town for the Jubilee and actually I haven’t been able to find an answer to that but best estimates are that 600+ actually registered. Then there were family members and other guests. So yes, we had a ‘ton’ of folks in town.
The fireworks seemed to put a special touch on the weekend and many were very surprised to see such a great fireworks show in this little town. Throughout the show we would think it must be over and then would come more and more, until that fabulous finale. Perhaps the quote of the weekend came from Courtney Heath, when seeing the beautiful fireworks just go on and on – “Just like Van Horn, where the fun never ends!”
Unfortunately Larry and I did not make it to the Memorial at Eagle Field, as we were helping finish and clean up after the reception at the Convention Center. We heard it was a really special addition to this year’s Jubilee. And what past ‘Eagle’ wouldn’t get a nostalgic and wonderful feeling just sitting in the stands looking over the backdrop of the cemetery and mountains as they became silhouettes in the fading light. The gong of the bell as each name of a departed friend or family member was read made for a memorable and ‘goosebumps’ time.
Saturday was hot and tiring, but who was complaining? Everyone was making the best of a day that was going by all too fast and bringing to a close another Jubilee. Charles and Patsy McLure and many from those Classes of the late 50s and 60s, were still dancing well after midnight.
Having the hospital’s Grand Opening of the new addition on Saturday helped make it an eventful day. I echo what many of the special guests and speakers at the ceremony conveyed. We are extremely fortunate as a small town to have not only a hospital, but now a state-of-the-art facility. Thanks to the vision of our Hospital District Board and to all who contributed to the realization of this dream.
So, last but certainly not least, thanks to all of those who came back ‘home’ for Jubilee 2010 and for the inspiration you give us who remain here to love this little town and see it as the very special place that you all do. And, another cliché but from the heart – “Thanks for the memories.” Hope to see you all at Jubilee 2015!