Jim, from the Alberta SRD (Sustainable Resource Development) Group 9, was kind enough to share some insight into his teams work and their experience with T-Shirtmonster. Check out some of the custom t-shirts they made:

The waterbomber group is based out of Lac La Biche Alberta, (Between Edmonton and Fort MacMurray).  Group 9 is contracted to the province of Alberta by Conair aviation and operates 6 AirTractor 802 – Fireboss aircraft and one Cessna Grand Caravan Bird Dog.  The personnel are 7 Conair pilots, 3 Conair engineers and 1 Alberta forestry officer who rides in the bird dog aircraft and directs the fire fighting operation.  Tanker base staff and Loadermen round out the team.

THIS SUMMER: “We were sent to British Columbia in August for almost 5 weeks on behalf of Alberta to assist in the wildfire crisis particularly around the Okanagan valley, Shuswap Lake area and the Cariboo, operating out of Salmon Arm and Quesnel BC. This involved fighting fires in the mountains and scooping water from some of the beautiful mountain lakes. The Fireboss proved itself quite capable under those conditions”.

WHAT IS A FIREBOSS?  “The Fireboss is based on an agricultural spray aircraft but is modified with bomb doors in the tank. The aircraft is also equipped with amphibious floats and although is land based it can skim on the surface of a lake to pick up water.  Once in the air a foam concentrate is injected into the water to give more of a blanketing effect when dropped on the fire. The tank can also be loaded with retardant which is a mud like red substance that when dropped in a long pattern at the edge of a forest fire will inhibit the fire from spreading.  After dispersing retardant the aircraft will then start scooping water to cool down areas of the fire. When the lake is close by the fireboss can scoop up to 40 loads of water in a four hour period. The tank capacity is up to 800 U.S. gallons”.

A BIG THANK-YOU to Jim and his team for keeping our forests safe and for sharing this story!!!!