Programme

    Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator for California

►  What, if any implications for the US Forest Service AFF mission and priorities arising from the WFMMC October Report.

►  Is the funding outlook for the US Forest Service aligned with the missions it is required to fulfil?

►  USFS is assessing UAS in support of different missions.  What are the missions most likely to see UAS in a supporting or augmenting role, and what the key challenges to be resolved (and possibly timeframe).

Amentum Aviation is honored to be the Platinum Sponsor for Aerial Firefighting North America.  During the presentation, we will introduce Amentum and its distinct capabilities to the Aerial Firefighting Community.  It will also explore CAL FIRE's mission and how Amentum consistently supports.  The presentation will cover various aspects such as aircraft, maintainers, pilots, fire response, and our goal of keeping 95% of fires at 10 acres or less.  Finally, the presentation will review the impact and results of Amentum's aerial firefighting goals and conclude by stressing the importance of retaining skilled pilots and maintainers.

The presentation will cover Coulson's operations in Australia, Argentina, and Chile and how the demand continues to increase for larger, more capable assets.

•  History of CAL FIRE Military Operations  •  Description of the Reciprocal Cooperative Agreement for State of California Military Assets •  CAL FIRE Guard Standards and Training:  Spring Exercise  • Guard Deployment & Missions: Water Dropping, Air Rescue, HLCO/Night HLCO

The 1920's and 30's are often referred to as the Golden Age of Flight, a period characterized by many signficant advances in aviation technology, the introduction of new use cases, and intense public interest.  It was also a period that saw civilian aviation catch up and surpass military aviation in performance and technology through the rapid commercial adoption of these new technologies and applications.  Today's many aviation technology advances and the widespread "democratization of the third dimension" that drones have enabled has led some to label this as the Second Golden Age of Flight and a renaissance of aviation progress.  This presentation explores the many opportunities this renaissance in aviation offers the aerial firefighting community as well as the challenges to realizing its many business and mission benefits.

An overview of CAL FIRE's UAS operational capabilities.  A look at current and future program development to meet the needs of our "All Risk" missions sets.

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity as the impact of climate change is rapidly changing and becoming as intense as ever.  Europe, and in particular Greece, have been hit severely by such events and despite the use of significant resources, the frequency and magnitude of wildfire events makes the examination of the use of new tools and methods for wildfire response, important and urgent.  Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and space technology can be a complimentary array of tools which can help towards the efforts to detect and suppress wildfires.

The presentation will focus on presenting new ideas and technologies for (i) monitoring and detection of wildfires with swarms of UAVs and earth observation satellites (ii) use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for fire suppression.

It's time for a meaningful change in the retardant technology that we use to fight wildfires.  Fortress produces next-generation fire retardants that are fine-tuned for specific aerial and ground applications.  Fortress is the first entrant to the industry in over 20 years to be added to the U.S. Forest Service's Qualified Product List.  Committed to developing high-performance and environmentally friendly solutions to stop wildfires, Fortress' served at multiple airtanker bases across the Western US in 2023 and will be coming to an airtanker base near you in 2024.

The Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Program managed by Ventura County, LA County and Orange County Fire Authority began in 2021, as a "seasonal" operation.  It has evolved into a multi-year, 7/24/365 day program to account for the entire fire year.  No longer is aerial fire retardant application a daylight use only operation.  The QRF program continues to demonstrate that night aerial fire retardant application is a capability that can be managed safely and should be expanded throughout the West.  The future of night aerial fire retardant application operations requiring the use of mobile retardant bases (MRB) and large capacity tanked helitankers equipped for night vision goggle (NVG) operations will be presented.

Night operations in the AFF mission have been transformed by the application of advanced technologies, and dedicated training and equipment. This game-changing capability will be debated by key practitioners, focusing also on lessons applied and what the future holds.

Aero-Flite has a long history of doing the right thing, focussing on safe operations and effective missions for over 60 years.  Supporting these goals, the company is training their pilots using the Mission Training System, a simulator platform that integrates 6 flight training devices - amphibious, airtanker and lead plane - enabling pilots the ability to fly together over the same simulated fire.

This presentation provides an overview of the US Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program, Wildland Fire Chemical Systems and Aerial Delivery Program testing procedures and qualification specifications for new wildland fire chemical products and the conformance criterion and validation of performance for aerial delivery systems.

In this presentation, Jeff Emery will educate attendees on how today's advanced fire retardant technology is evolving to help aerial firefighters battle today's larger, more intense wildfires.  When it comes to aerial firefighting, performance matters, and having the right fire retardant is only part of the solution.  Just as important is having the ability to get the retardant to the fire on time, and in the right amount.  Emery will explain the critical role sophisticated fire retardant equipment, streamlined logistics, and a capable infrastructure play in helping firefighters to protect property and save lives from wildfire, sharing valuable insight on the mission critical needs of aerial firefighting, and the best way they are delivered.

In an effort to prevent firefighter inuries and fatalities, the utilization of advanced, sensor-equipped aircraft designed specifically for firefighter overwatch and wildfire monitoring presents a significant opportunity to enhance safety for wildland firefighters.

Stu will discuss the increasing role of Exclusive-Use and Call-When-Needed contract aircraft and how they are integrated in to CAL FIRE's aerial firefighting program.  Additionally, current CAL FIRE contracting requirements and standards for civil operators will be addressed.

Interoperability in a unified cooperative airspace is critical to safety and success of inter-agency aviation operations.

Canada has its worst forest fire season in statistical memory.  We had major fires from the east coast to the west coast and from the north to the south of the country.  Six of of thirteen agencies were particularly hard hit.  All in all, we were able to meet several challenges.