4:30 P.M., circa one mile north of my back yard. Oog! Note bulldozer
and firefighters climbing fire road at lower right.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3949269189/sizes/o/

Crafton Hills College students evacuate the school in some haste. The
flames were closing on the school at about 20-30 MPH, pushed by a
stiff Santa Ana wind.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950050476/sizes/o/

The attack begins in earnest: One spotter plane, one borate bomber,
three water-dropping helicopters (two hidden below ridgeline), one
bulldozer, and around 100 firefighters on the ground.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950052166/sizes/o/

The Big Dog -a Douglas DC-10 jumbo jet converted for fire-fighting-
shows up to look over the situation.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950056456/sizes/o/

This sequence shows a single DC-10 fire retardant drop from beginning
to end: 12,000 gallons of bright red borate solution delivered in
about ten seconds over the distance of around a mile.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950057708/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950058534/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3950058534/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3949280111/sizes/o/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/33885727 at (no spam) N03/3949285573/sizes/o/

Watching a 180 foot long Jumbo Jet come within a fuselage-length of
the ground at just above stalling speed in order to hit his target
accurately will instantly give you a whole *bunch* of respect for the
flight crew!

The fire is still burning tonight, but the wind has dropped to almost
nothing and that last drop by the DC-10 managed to stop the flames
short of the college.

They'll be hitting it again as the sun is up tomorrow morning.

~Pete