Posted on 09/06/2020 1:33:29 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The California Office of Emergency Services said Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were used for the rescues that began late Saturday and continued overnight. At least two people were severely injured and 10 more suffered moderate injuries. Two campers refused rescue and stayed behind, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said.
A photo tweeted by the National Guard showed at least 20 evacuees crammed inside one helicopter, crouched on the floor clutching their belongings. In another photo taken on the ground from the cockpit, the densely wooded hills surrounding the aircraft were in flames.
The wildfire, named the Creek Fire, started Friday and by Saturday afternoon exploded to 56 square miles (145 square kilometers), jumped the San Joaquin River and cut off the only road into the Mammoth Pool Campground, national forest spokesman Dan Tune said. At least 2,000 structures were threatened in the area about 290 miles (467 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.
Tune said the campers were told to shelter in place until fire crews, aided by water-dropping aircraft, could gain access to the site.
The lake 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Fresno is surrounded by thick pine forests and is a popular destination for boating and fishing. Bone-dry conditions and the hot weather fueled the flames.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Why would anyone opt to stay when they could be taken to safety in a few minutes and help was right there?
Will there be any compulsion to recover the bodies of the two Stupid Democrats who decided to stay?
Perhaps they were concerned that helicopters are not exactly safe, especially in hot, high elevation conditions.
burning down.
No clearing of brush in California. It’s not natural.
Of course, my expectations may be tainted by how many helochoppers went down carrying Marines between Japan and Okinawa when I was in Japan 1984 - 1986.
The article states there were injuries. Two characterized as serious.
It sounds like it may have been chaotic.
103 people on one CH 47 lift
I’m about 50 east of this fire and the smoke is very heavy here. The Forest Service often clear brush and timber with controlled burns in my area.
I think I would chose the possibility of a quick death in a crash over trying to outrun a firestorm that is certain to catch up to me.
We’re there a lot of crashes between Japan and Okinawa? Does the weather quickly turn bad there and get travelers caught up in it?
This young woman gets the award for best driver to escape a forest fire.
https://mobile.twitter.com/julipdoe/status/1302456223082508288
I’m on the other side, about 20 miles west of it. There’s entire groves of dead ponderosa pines due to destructive beetles that thrive during dry years. To their credit, the Forest Service, Caltrans, and the counties have been clearing out dead ponderosas with controlled burns and logging, but there’s way too many in very remote areas.
Reads as one of the SF camp evacuations in VN.
Good old Futemna, Salute!
Spent a year there on top of the Rock. MAG-36 H&MS. A couple weeks before I got there for duty, they had a couple CH-46s go down.
Fortunately, when we had to heli up North to qualify later that tour, they flew us landhuggers on CH-53s.
These are aircraft that had been used heavily in country for years leading up to the group’s move to Okinawa when rotated out. God only knows how many firestorms they survived.
Nature doesn’t clear brush.
Nature starts fires with lightning and burns everything, like what is happening now.
In 50, 75, 100 years the forest will be back.
Remember the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. There was warning that something dramatic was about to happen but some people refused to leave, including an old man named Harry Truman. The ditzy governor of Washington encouraged him to stay. He was never seen again after the eruption and is presumably buried many feet underground.
Gatlinburg, TN fire of 2016 had some hairy night time driving escapes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3tkb9idzo&ab_channel=killboydotcom
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