Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



hour. Hence, he must view more than 

 12,000 acres a minute. Each acre re- 

 ceives observation for only a small 

 fraction of a second, and the incipient 

 lightning fire may be making less smoke 

 than a small campfire. Slower air- 

 craft would afford better patrol obser- 

 vation. 



Then, speed again operates against 

 efficiency in such jobs as dropping sup- 

 plies and jumpers. Delay by a dropper 

 approximating the time of two heart 

 beats can, while flying 120 miles an 

 hour, cause loss of the vital cargo re- 

 leased. Just that fraction of a second 

 could cause overshooting the target 

 badly. Jumpers, too, must compensate 

 for forward plane speed, and they take 

 a terrific shock as their chutes open at 

 100 or 120 miles an hour like a jump 

 from a tall building with a 15- or 20- 

 foot rope attached to the roof and to 

 a person's shoulders; the jerk of the 

 sudden stop is severe. 



THE TREND in airplane design is in 

 the direction of faster and faster craft, 

 away from the ideal type for forest-fire 

 operations. The helicopter, however, 

 promises to fulfill the need for slower 

 movement in the air. 



Still in its infancy, the helicopter has 

 already been used in fire fighting. It 

 needs only an opening in the timber 

 for a landing site. Its use is not re- 

 stricted to costly and widely separated 

 landing fields. It can fly slowly to per- 

 mit thorough scrutiny of any spot that 

 looks suspicious to the observer. It can 

 almost stand still in midair while the 

 patrolman plots the location and con- 

 ditions of a fire. 



During the summer of 1947, a heli- 

 copter quickly moved a large crew of 

 fire fighters from the road end in the 

 valley bottom to the point of critical 

 need on a fire high up on an inacces- 

 sible mountain. There was no landing 

 strip, only a brush-free spot on the 

 mountain, but the task was accom- 

 plished without mishap. 



Helicopters now do not carry enough 

 pay load to make them a major factor 

 in delivering supplies, men, or fire- 



extinguishing bombs, but that lack 

 might soon be overcome. If the hover- 

 ing type of aircraft is made capable of 

 carrying a ton or more, it will be the 

 final answer to the dreams of the fire 

 fighters. It will follow lightning storms 

 across the forests, hovering at treetop 

 level to examine each strike. The pa- 

 trolman can be lowered to the ground 

 by rope ladder to extinguish any smol- 

 dering spark. He will climb back into 

 the helicopter and proceed systemati- 

 cally to the next danger spot, stopping 

 in midair here and there to scrutinize 

 suspected areas. When a small blazing 

 fire is discovered, the helicopter will 

 hover directly above it, just out of reach 

 of the heat, and water or chemical will 

 be poured or squirted directly on the 

 fire. Smokejumpers will be replaced 

 with "heli-firemen," and the most dan- 

 gerous and spectacular action in fire- 

 control work will be discontinued in 

 favor of an easier, safer, yet as effec- 

 tive, method of getting to the point of 

 attack. Then, when the last spark is 

 killed, the "heli-fireman" will not face 

 that long, hard hike, 20 or 30 miles 

 cross-country under a heavy back pack, 

 to the old landing field. He will merely 

 radio for the helicopter and climb up 

 the rope ladder to a good comfortable 

 ride back to the base. 



He will be available for assignment 

 to another fire hours, perhaps days, 

 earlier than under the 1949 system of 

 "jump to the fire and crawl back when 

 you get her licked." 



CLAYTON S. CROCKER began sea- 

 sonal work in forest-fire protection on 

 the Selway National Forest in north- 

 ern Idaho, and for 31 years has been 

 engaged in forest-fire control activi- 

 ties in the Rocky Mountain country. 

 His fire-control experience includes 

 active participation through the eras 

 of the pack trail, the mountain truck 

 road, and development of aerial for- 

 estry. Since 1944 Mr. Crocker has been 

 assistant regional forester in charge of 

 fire control for the Northern Region of 

 the Forest Service, and is stationed in 

 Missoula. 



