HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Crews from across the country are trying to contain multiple wildfires across western North Carolina.
Evacuations are in place for parts of Polk and Henderson counties as three fires have burned more than 5,000 acres. As of Monday evening, officials say two fires are zero percent contained.
During a wildfire, an aircraft can be a sign of hope.
“It’s basically like a four-wheel drive truck in the mountains,” N.C. Forest Service scout pilot Bryan Austin said while standing in front of his plane. “We are literally sitting waiting to go.”
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In the air, Austin is the eyes. He communicates with crews on the ground while flying anywhere between 90 and 200 mph.
“It gets very intense sometimes because most of my focus is like this and we are flying like this,” Austin said while looking down and to his left.
While in the air, pilots are constantly looking out for potential hazards. That could be birds, debris from the fire, other aircraft — and something that has become a growing issue in recent years: drones.
In North Carolina, it is illegal to fly a drone near or over a wildfire.
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“A lot of people think that they won’t do as much damage, but they are incredibly damaging. If they hit a blade, I mean they can cause enough damage where we have to put down or it can be catastrophic,” N.C. Forest Service suppression pilot Patrick Easler said.
Easler flies a 1960’s Huey. He and his crew chief navigate the terrain while dropping 240 gallons of water onto flames.
“The difficult with dropping is the wind will change it. It’s like zeroing in. So, you will drop, and it will be a little left because the winds are a little stronger and you’ll have to drop it a little to the right so that it goes into the fire,” he said.
Both pilots – fought the elements in hopes of preventing the fire from destroying homes and livelihoods.
“It can get rough. When you are flying around up there, you see a fire approaching somebody’s house, you are helpless. You are helpless,” Austin said.
But each takeoff is another opportunity to slow the spread of the wildfire.
