Uploaded August 2015 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
In 2008 on the Panther Incident, (Klamath N.F.) a fire fighter was injured on the line in a remote area. The I.C. requested a Medivac based on the seriousness of the injury. A National Guard hoist equipped black hawk helicopter was called in for the mission. The helicopter hovered and configured for hoist over the active fire and injured fire fighter for nearly 10 minutes. A live video illustrates the complexity of the situation and the cumulative affects on the fire behavior, safety of the ground crews, due to the length of time the helicopter spent hovering over the site. Although the injured party was ultimately extracted from the injury site successfully, the operation seriously compromised the safety of all parties involved. The final consequences from this one Medivac expanded the size of the fire, caused destruction of firefighter equipment and compromised the safety of fire fighters on the ground.
In 2008 on the Panther Incident, (Klamath N.F.) a fire fighter was injured on the line in a remote area. The I.C. requested a Medivac based on the seriousness of the injury. A National Guard hoist equipped black hawk helicopter was called in for the mission. The helicopter hovered and configured for hoist over the active fire and injured fire fighter for nearly 10 minutes. A live video illustrates the complexity of the situation and the cumulative affects on the fire behavior, safety of the ground crews, due to the length of time the helicopter spent hovering over the site. Although the injured party was ultimately extracted from the injury site successfully, the operation seriously compromised the safety of all parties involved. The final consequences from this one Medivac expanded the size of the fire, caused destruction of firefighter equipment and compromised the safety of fire fighters on the ground.
