Clear(er) Skies

All is quiet this morning. The fires are lying down and there doesn’t appear to be any fresh disasters on the horizon. In fact, with a lack of smoke, we can actually see the horizon! But, this early start on the fire season makes you wonder how many wildfires we will see this year?

Speaking of fires; I was talking to Bill yesterday and he told me that there were some pretty impressive video clips (on YouTube) of the DC-10 that is now being used to fight fires. So I searched for ‘dc-10 tanker’ and found this one plus dozens more.

From what I understand, there is only one DC-10 equipped like this. And apparently we need lots more. And that made me think of all the aircraft that are now being mothballed or retired because of the inability of various airlines to think ahead during a fuel price crisis. Those same airlines ought to donate some of those planes and gain a tax credit for each one. They may not have much room for luggage, but I bet they could hold a lot of fire retardant.