What is it with stupid people from Arizona? I mean, I'm an Arizona native, and this just embarasses the hell out of me. First, the idiot whining about "Tom Cruise wannabe fighter pilots" without having the first freaking clue about what's going on.....could've just asked the question without the asshole-ish attitude attached.
Now this. This has to take the freaking cake for stupidity, regards one of the wildland fires currently burning in the state......
From the AZ Republic....1 July, OP/ED:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
<b>Courses deny fire crews water
Colin Williams
Jul. 2, 2005 12:00 AM </b>
I wasn't evacuated or threatened by the "Cave Creek Complex" fire, but I still dusted off my old radio scanner and tuned in to some of the "air-attack" and "air-to-ground" frequencies.
The constant chatter on these frequencies gave me a real-time and unbiased picture of what was happening some 30 miles from my home.
The pilots who talk on these radios are seasoned and have fought desert fires from the air. Their efforts are perhaps the most effective in fighting the fire.
On June 23, when the fire still was advancing toward homes in and around Tonto Hills, northeast of Carefree, one thing was clear: The pilots who drop water from their helicopters were extremely frustrated. The reason?
The local golf courses refused to allow them to dip water from their lakes.
The word from the powers that be who control the ponds was a flat "no." At one point, a pilot said, "It will take one of these high-dollar homes to burn down" before approval would be given.
Like the firefighters on the ground, the pilots were determined to protect people's homes from the fire. It was disheartening to hear them constantly speak of the political pressure they faced when considering whether to dip from the man-made ponds. It's unknown to me if permission ever was granted.
I hope in the future that permission will be given to pilots so they can dip water from the ponds during the initial stages of fighting a fire.
One thing was clear on my scanner that day: Golfers were allowed to play through.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
