MD-87 makes water drops in South Dakota

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wingTags ,

In these videos by Terry Nelsen, Erickson’s MD-87 air tankers are seen dropping water on the Rankin Fire in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota September 13, 2017. Both Tankers 101 and 103 were used on the fires in the area.

One of the firefighters told us that after the Rankin Fire had been burning for a while an MD-87 en route to drop water on the fire in the park was diverted to a new fire just starting, the Beaver Fire between Wind Cave NP and Pringle, South Dakota

Wind Cave NP has a policy that the Park Superintendent can on a case by case basis decide if retardant will be banned on individual wildfires. In the case of the Rankin Fire, he decided he did not want retardant used, so the air tankers were using plain water.

Fire engines are allowed to drive off the road to suppress fires in Wind Cave National Park but in some cases retardant is banned.

Typos, let us know, and please keep in mind the commenting ground rules before you post a comment.

One thought on “MD-87 makes water drops in South Dakota”

  1. I fail to see how this fire is news when compared to fires burning in MT and/or other states. These SD fires only get news because you live there. Nothing in comparison to other states fires.

Comments are closed.