Copper Incident
www.freqofnature.com

After monitoring this brush fire on the radio scanner all day I decided to take a trip up there after work to see if I could get any photos of the working fire. Here's what I got...

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I followed a strike team on their way to the Incident from the 5 freeway. The IC was kind enough to give us both directions over the radio. The spot I choose to take photos of the fire was on Lake Hughs Road near Castaic Lake. The CHP had the road blocked off and would not allow anyone north of this spot, with good reason. Fire is unpredictable. On the way up I heard a report of a fire fighter who had been over run by the fire and was being taken to the hospital.
 
We were quite a long distance from the fire. This was a part of the fire that was crossing a ridge into Green Valley. They had at least two C-130 tankers and several helicopters fighting this blaze.
 
Helicopter "Heavy" picking up water from Lake Castaic. CHP closed the road down. I had a chance to talk quite a bit with the CHP officer on duty here. The officer related his experience, while in the Army, jumping from C-130's as we watched them fly over head on a different kind of mission.
 
Just picked up some of the wet stuff and going to put it on the red stuff.
 
Private Contract  Copter w/ Bambi Bucket. Los Angeles City Battalion Chief 10. The staging area was just up this road at a County fire station.
 
CDF Engine. I thought they did away with passengers riding outside the cab. The Herc again.
 
There was another part of the fire in the distance with a plume that looked like an atomic bomb had gone off. It was interesting to see the top of the plume breaking through the smoke filled air to reach sun light. The smoke in the air actually seemed to drop the temperature as I got closer to the incident. Pickin' up more of that cold H20.
 
On one trip out of Lake Castaic, this CDF pilot decided to buzz us on his way out of the lake. As he approached he turned on his sirens and made his slow bank toward the fire.
 
 
 
The sun was setting and the copters would soon be leaving the fire for the ground troops to fight until they return again tomorrow. Life went on at the lake, only with the occasional helicopter landing in the lake to pick up some wet stuff.
 
Burbank was helping to fight the fire along with fire fighters from all over California. Ventura County had Copter 7 on scene.