Tankers 409, 428 and 486 stand ready to launch on
Cave Creek Complex fire as the smoke plume rises in background.
by Marc Mullis
Williams-Gateway Airport (KIAW) is a sprawling ex-military airbase located in Mesa, Arizona on the eastern edge of the Phoenix metropolis. Having been decommissioned as an Air Force Base in 1993, the huge complex has grown into the thirty-ninth busiest airport in the United States. It has become the poster child for other closed military air bases. While still supporting military operations, Gateway (as it is commonly called), also is home to a very diverse mix of aviation-related businesses from primary flight schools to Boeing Aerospace. One is just as likely to see a 747 on approach as a Cessna 150. The three parallel nine thousand-plus feet runways allow continuous operations with this eclectic mix of aircraft.
Several years ago the U.S. Forest Service began renting ramp space at Gateway to use as a heavy tanker base during the busy summer fire season. Always known as a base for heavies and military C-130 MAFFS (Mobile Aerial Firefighting System), it was a surprise to learn that Gateway would also be home to SEATs (Single Engine Air Tankers) for the 2005 fire season. The main customer for the Gateway tankers is the Tonto National Forest. The forest administration had decided they wanted to try a couple of Air Tractor AT-802As this year in their aerial fleet.
The morning of June 12 found me headed for Gateway in Tanker-409, one of M&M Air Service’s Air Tractor AT-802s. My service truck driver, Gary Sprague, was waiting on me when I arrived. After being briefed and filling out some paperwork, we were in service by 0900. Later in the morning we were joined by T-428, another AT-802A owned by Airwork, Enterprises and crewed by pilot Steve Fletcher and driver Larry Wallace. Aero Union had T-21, a P-3, parked on the ramp. With all personnel present, there were about thirty people on the base. After introductions, we settled in and tried to get as comfortable as one can get in +100°F heat. Over the next few months, this was to be our home. We would all become part of one very large extended family.
The morning of June 21st started like any other, pre-flight complete and on duty by 0900. After the 0930 briefing, everyone drifted off for a place in the shade, trying to beat the unforgiving Arizona sun. One thing was different today. The morning weather brief had mentioned that the lightning activity level (LAL) would be at two instead of the normal one. LAL-2 means there is the possibility of scattered cumulus clouds with associated lightning. Heavy winter rainfall had produced a lush crop of grass and brush to the normally barren desert landscape. The last few months of blistering sunshine had now cured and dried this heavy fuel load to the point that any ignition source would lead to a wildfire. It was common knowledge that one lightning strike in the right place could be disastrous.
By 1300, it was becoming evident that there would be some lightning strikes. Thunderstorms had formed over the high country and the rumble coming from within their bellies was a sign of things to come. At 1400 the first dispatch came in. Steve Fletcher in T-428 and myself in T-409 were dispatched to the west side of Roosevelt Lake where three new fires had been reported (these fires would later merge to become the Three-fire). High winds and turbulence made for a nasty flight. After circling and waiting on conditions to improve, we were both forced to jettison our loads of retardant and return to base. The evening news brought reports of numerous new fire starts in the higher elevations north of Deer Valley and Scottsdale. We all retired from the tanker base that night with the knowledge that tomorrow would be a busy day.
The storms continued through the night bringing with them rainfall that had little effect on the fires that had been fanned into a frenzy by the thunderstorms’ downdraft outflows. The next morning saw a flurry of activity at the Gateway Tanker Base. All available aviation resources were launched in an effort to contain the numerous blazes before they could reach any homes or structures. Resource orders were put in for more heavy tankers and helitankers.
Steve and I were coming and going in the 802 SEATs with some loads dropped to build or reinforce lines, some used for structure protection and some placed on active flames in an effort to cool the heat. Steve would later say that while looking at the fire and plume growth, he felt he had real job security.
On the egress from one drop, I happened to look to my right and found myself making eye contact with three young men standing on a deck. My thoughts were, “If you could see what I see, you would not be standing there. You would be running.”
The standing order after each drop was “Load and Return”. As darkness fell, the air operations ended and we learned that eleven homes had been lost to the fire in the Cave Creek area. Thankfully, no one had been hurt. Later that night three of the fires would merge together into what would two weeks later become the second largest wildfire in Arizona history. It would now be known as the Cave Creek Complex Fire.
The next few days were a blur of activity. The fire was creating its own weather, as the smoke plume grew thousands of feet into the atmosphere. The SEATs were moved to the Deer Valley Airport, placing us closer to a fire that was part of but not actually connected to the main complex. At times up to five heavy air tankers (three P-3s, one DC-7, and one P-2) and numerous helicopters joined the fray.
Chartered Boeing 737s shuttled in and out of Gateway dropping off fresh firefighters from across the country. With heavy smoke that reduced visibility and a very crowded airspace good communications were an essential part of the air operations. The Lead Planes and Air Attacks did a fantastic job in creating order out of the confusion.
Most of the aerial assault that took place during the first week of the fire occurred in very remote and rugged terrain. These features, combined with afternoon temperatures well over 100°F, made it nearly impossible to get people on the ground to where the aerial drops were being made. One of the rules of aerial firefighting is too not put retardant on the ground when it cannot be supported by ground-troops. Rules were being broken, but communities were threatened and we needed to buy time with the retardant drops. Our goals were to slow down the fire and change its direction, keeping it from reaching denser fuels. At this point, the fire appeared to be unstoppable.
By the second week, Mother Nature decided to give us a hand in the form of slight southwest winds. Two more SEATs joined us at Gateway. Tankers 486 and 488 complimented the aerial force that had assembled in the Arizona skies. The AT-802s worked wing-tip to wing-tip along side the heavies either building retardant line or reinforcing existing line. Progress was being made on the eastern flank and the fire was divided into two zones, north and south.
The heavy-tankers were put to work on the west side of the fire, building a line between the blaze and the community of Black Canyon City, while the SEATs and helitankers kept pounding away at hot spots. Each day brought more victories on the fire line. Back burn operations were successful and the aerial retardants held.
On the morning of the Fourth of July, 2005, the last of many missions was flown on the Cave Creek Complex Fire. In the end it was fighting fire with fire that was the decisive factor in the thirteen-day battle. The successful back-burn operations had deprived the monster of the fuel it had been feeding on. More than 2,000 firefighters endured the searing heat and rugged terrain to battle the flames face to face, while more than 20 aircraft attacked the blaze with an aerial assault. After two weeks, the price of bringing the fire under control was more than $12 million, with the majority of that sum being spent on aerial resources. In the end, more than 245,000 acres (an area 17 miles wide and 34 miles long) had been scorched making the Cave Creek Complex Fire second in size only to the 2002 Rodeo-Chedeski Fire.
Life at Williams-Gateway (or Willie as it is affectionately called) has somewhat returned to normal. Air-conditioned trailers are a welcome oasis from the Sonora desert heat. Recliners are full of aircrews dozing, reading, or watching TV. The evening news is on and when the forecaster mentions dry lightning by the weekend, all eyes immediately focus on the screen. Someone in the far corner moans, “Here we go again”.
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