"It's a really difficult area to drive into," describes Lt. Greg Goettsch, of the Abilene Fire Department, in reference to the burning area near the Abilene Airport. He adds that the thick terrain south of the Airport, created a challenge for the Abilene Fire Crews working hard to get a grasp on things. "We want to get to the head of the fire, put it out, and stop its progress. It's really difficult in this kind of terrain."
As the day went on, the wind created more hot spots than the six units from the Abilene Fire Department could handle, that's when they called in reinforcements from the sky.
"We had some flare ups and hot spots with the wind changing, and they sent in their air support for that, and it really helped tremendously," says Goettsch.
Les Rogers, of the Texas Forest Service, adds that bringing in a helicopter allows them to make aerial water drops to help cool things down.
He goes on to say the nice part about the helicopter is it's ability to attack the remote areas. "Some of the worst areas are where there is large grass build up, where the Fire Departments cant get their brush trucks in, and that's what's making it hard. That's where the bull dozer and the air craft played a big part in helping the Fire Departments out."
With the recent fires in Hawley, and other areas around the Big Country, the aerial support has provided a welcome relief. "Some areas we just simply couldn't get to, that a helicopter could and it made all of the difference," says Goettsch.
Rogers figures it's not too far of a stretch to say this could only be the beginning of the aerial support. "I imagine you'll start to see not only this one helicopter, but multiple helicopters, maybe some fixed winged assets as well."
