Woodland - Spring 2013 - (Page 9)

boTH pHoToS © HIllSboRo AVIATIoN on the ground up in the air: fighting wildfires Ken Johnson Takes to the Skies to Protect People and Forests by amanda cooke For Ken Johnson, there is no such thing as a slow season. Johnson is the chief pilot for the contract and charter division of Hillsboro Aviation, an Oregon-based company. He is on call seven days a week in the winter, working under a search-and-rescue contract in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. When storms roll in and trap skiers or hikers in the backcountry, Johnson and his aircraft are called on to save lives. In the warmer seasons, Johnson is a crucial member of a crew of wildland firefighters and aviators contracted by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. During the 2012 season alone he fought fires in Oregon, Wyoming, California, and Nevada. “We had one fire close to our base that spread to nearly 300,000 acres,” Johnson recalls. Once notified of an outbreak, it takes Johnson and a crew 10 minutes to get off the ground. One fire manager and eight firefighters with their equipment ride in his Bell 205 A1++—a medium-sized helicopter. The aircraft also carries a 340-gallon water bucket. Firefighter Ken Johnson (inset), who pilots this Bell helicopter, has been fighting wildfires in the West for 26 years. The manager onboard is a seasoned firefighter who oversees the fire crews and the operation of the aircraft. When they arrive at the blaze, the manager goes through a checklist to analyze the scene while Johnson circles overhead. With the help of another manager back at dispatch, a decision is then made about whether to deploy the firefighters. “Firefighters need to be on the ground. Without people on the ground, the fire is going to come back.” But Johnson emphasizes, “safety really is number one. The manager and I have some intense conversations about safety. We don’t put firefighters in harm’s way—we don’t place them above flames. They land in a safe zone.” “We saw a lot of significant fires this past season. Sometimes you have to let fires take their course. Even if you continue to try to flank and pinch the fire, sometimes they burn for a long time,” Johnson says. Water bucket and fire retardant drops merely postpone the spread, Johnson said. Johnson, who is 63 years old, was introduced to aviation when he was a teenager. A pilot took him for a ride and he was hooked. He enrolled in the U.S. Army Aviation School, then spent 10 years in the Army, six of those years of flying. Johnson started fighting fires in 1986 and hasn’t missed working a fire season in the 26 years since. “Fire is fire. Mother Nature predicts what’s going to happen and you can’t predict her.” And yet, Johnson adds, there are steps people can take to help prevent wildfire and protect America’s wildland firefighters. These steps include proper management of forests through thinning and controlled burns, and building homes on properties away from high-risk areas. For more information on protecting your woodland from wildfire, visit www.mylandplan.org/wildfire. woodland • Spring 2013 9 http://www.mylandplan.org/wildfire

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Woodland - Spring 2013

Woodland - Spring 2013
Contents
Overstory
On the Ground
Faith and Forestry
Take a Hike!
Tools and Resources
Forests and Families

Woodland - Spring 2013