Slashdot Mirror
Online Fire Tracking?
goatbar asks: "Being in San Diego, it is really frustrating to see the lack of information to the public about where the fires are. It seems such a simple thing to have an application where people can add info as to when and where there are fires. We would love to know when it's safe to go home, but with 3 TV stations out, it's hard to know. Seems like basic disaster service, right?"
Nope. It's fairly different. News choppers are flying quite a ways above the ground, where the buffetting of wind doesn't dangerously affect them.
The bombers and water dropping helicopters fly within 50 - 100 feet of the ground to make their drops. Gusty wind conditions create an extremely unpredictable environment. A shift in the wind direction can obscure the flight path for the bomber and even a few moments of blindness could mean instant death.
This is despite the fact that gusty wind conditions render the dropping of retardant useless since it will just be blown all over the place, instead of on the intended target.