Cedar Fire Night Aviation 2016

On Sunday, August 21, at approximately 2100 hours, the Cedar Fire was making a push south toward Wofford Heights, a mix of permanent and summer residential homes located one mile south of Kernville, Calif. and one mile north of Lake Isabella. Approximately 250 homes are scattered throughout this area located on steep slopes, on top of ridges, as well as on more level terrain. Most of these residences have winding driveways with thick vegetation (brush and trees) adjacent to their homes. The Incident Management Team ordered the night-flying helicopter resource to be re-positioned from the Angeles National Forest to the Cedar Fire based on activity the IMT had experienced the night before, along with the fact that the fire had spread into areas of significant tree mortality.

Without the water dropping capability at night on the Cedar Fire, there would have been structures lost at Wofford Heights (too much time to set-up hose lays for structure defense) and personnel safety compromised by the increased exposure to extreme fire behavior. This was the first of three nights on the Cedar Fire that night aviation operations were used to protect values at risk (VAR-structures) and to limit fire spread (spotting). 

RLS, Structure Protection, Aviation, Helicopters, Large Fire