Four Canadair CL-215 Super Scoopers refill their tanks with water from the north end of Seeley Lake. The lake was closed to recreation last week to allow the aircraft to utilize it as needed.
Sikorsky S-61 Helicopter: This helicopter is primarily used for external cargo and water bucket operations. The aircraft requires a two-man crew to operate and can accommodate around two-dozen passengers. It also has a 1,000 gallon tank that can be used for retardant drops.
Chinook-47D Helicopter: The CH-47D helicopter is capable of carrying just about anything. It has a 2,800 gallon internal tank and is often used for bucket drops as well. The internal tank can be filled in 60 seconds using a pump. Buckets can be filled from water sources that are as shallow as 18 inches.
DC-10 Very Large Airtanker: This modified passenger jet is one of three in the country and is currently stationed in Helena. It can carry approximately 11,000 gallons of retardant. Rough cost: $50,000/day plus hourly flight rate of around $22,000.
Air Tractor AT- 802A: This aircraft is a modified agricultural aircraft. It is considered a Type III SEAT, or Single Engine Air Tanker.
Gulfstream 695A: Used primarily for 'air attack', these planes circle at elevations high above the fire and help to orchestrate the overall aerial operations from their birds'-eye view.
Air Tractor AT- 802A Fire Boss: Also a modified agricultural aircraft, the Fire Boss is retrofitted with amphibious floats to allow it to land on the water. The Fire Boss can also scoop around 800 gallons of water from a lake or river.
Canadair CL-215: Tank capacity: 1,400 gallons of water. The CL-215's have a lake-fire-lake round trip time of just six minutes to the Rice Ridge Fire. Seeley Lake has been closed so that the four "Scoopers" can reload. Rough Cost: $9,100/ day plus an hourly flight rate of around $7,500.
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake residents have had front row seats to a top notch, and pricy, airshow for the last week. As the Rice Ridge Fire moved up the national priority list to claim the number one spot, the ability for the Incident Management Team to request and receive aerial resources was bolstered.
With a single day high of nine aircraft Aug. 4, there has been at least one aircraft flying around the fire every day.
The public has seen modified DC-10 jets dumping brilliant red retardant on the edges of the fire, and water scoopers skimming gracefully over the surface of Seeley Lake, filling with lake water before charging towards the fire to make a drop.
A twin rotor Chinook Helicopter made bucket drops and a Sikorsky dumped retardant on the fire over the weekend. Several smaller spotter planes have been on hand circling the fire coordinating the aerial efforts.
Seeley Lake waters were closed Aug. 1 to recreationist to allow for up for four CL-215 "super scoopers" to reload directly from the lake.
As of Saturday, Aug. 5 the total costs for aerial efforts was $1.3 million, approximately 35 percent of the overall cost of the fire. Public Information Officer Catherine Koele said that typically, aircraft will make up about a third of the costs of fighting a fire.
Aerial help is key to preventing rapid spread of fire and maintaining firelines. For the Rice Ridge Fire, they are the reason Seeley Lake is still intact.
"We got all those aerial resources and we stopped [an evacuation Aug. 1] from happening," said Andrew Mandell, the initial Incident Commander on the fire. "If we wouldn't have gotten those aerial resources this would be a very different conversation."
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