Gallery Update: Fire Boss Sighting in Salem!

I should've flown to Hood River today to attend the annual fly-in up there. Unfortunately, a small wildfire that became known as the Vitae Springs brushfire broke out just outside the southwest corner of Salem city limits yesterday, sending smoke into the air and thus, reducing visibility throughout the Willamette Valley. With reduced visibility and the fact the fires were only a few miles from where I live, I made the painful decision to scrap my planned trip up to Hood River (even though it was probably doable) and decided to hang back and stay close to home just in case the brush fire became a greater concern. In response to this brushfire that's broken out uncomfortably close to home, some aerial firefighting assets were deployed to combat it, including a pair of float-equipped Air Tractor AT-802Fs known as the Fire Boss! I've seen standard fixed-gear variants of the AT-802 before, but never the amphibious Fire Boss, so I figured this opportunity to see these unusual single-engine air tankers (SEAT) was a good consolation for missing the Hood River fly-in today. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

"Fire Boss 231" of "Fire Boss 231 Flight of Two" entering the left-downwind for Runway 31.

"Fire Boss 232" entering the left-downwind for 31 bringing up the rear.

Coastal Air Strike Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss (N800LA) operating as "Fire Boss 231" arriving on 31 after fighting the Vitae Springs brushfire.

Coastal Air Strike Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss (N804RX) operating as "Fire Boss 232" arriving on 31 after working the Vitae Springs brushfire with "Fire Boss 231."

"Fire Boss 231" taxiing to the ramp. These guys flew down from The Dalles in order to take on the fires here.

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing to the ramp.

Columbia Basin Helicopters Bell UH-1H Iroquois (N80NH) arriving over 31 after working the nearby fires.

"Fire Boss 231" taxiing onto the ramp.

What makes the Fire Boss unique is the ability to scoop water from a viable water source via the Wipaire floats into an 800 gallon tank. 

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing to parking.

Face-to-face with "Fire Boss 232"

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing onto the ramp.

With a loitering time of around 3 hours, and the ability to scoop water from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, the amphibious AT-802F Fire Boss is capable of dropping up to 14,000 gallons of water per hour before needing to refuel. Considering the location of the Vitae Springs brushfire, the Fire Boss was the perfect aerial firefighting platform to fight the fire, which they did well by scooping from the nearby Willamette River and dumping repeatedly.

"Fire Boss 231 Flight of Two" finished for the day. No doubt, these pilots were the unsung heroes of Salem this weekend!

Life Flight Network AgustaWestland AW119 MkII Koala (N716LF) arriving back from a mission. Life Network opened a new base right here in Salem earlier this year with at least two helicopters.