Mike Callahan, a conservation pilot with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, talks about what goes into a day on the job. Danny Damiani/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The engine rumbled to life. A propeller spun with a rush of noise, and Mike Callahan gently guided his small single-engine plane, a Cessna Skywagon 185, toward a runway at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
He checked his instruments a final time on the plane's faded yellow dashboard and radioed the control tower. He was ready to fly.
A few moments later, Callahan was hundreds of feet above the shores of Lake Winnebago. He soared above treetops and rain-soaked farm fields. He pointed out a bald eagle perched on a branch far below.
Callahan, 58, is a pilot for the state Department of Natural Resources, one of eight currently working in Wisconsin. He's part of a team that has played a key role this spring in the fighting of wildfires across a large swath of central and western Wisconsin.
Callahan also is the pilot who helped locate a kayaker who went missing on the Embarrass River near Shiocton last month, and from the sky he and his cohorts have been monitoring rising waters in rivers and lakes that came in the wake of an unusually snowy April.
The job doesn’t have a daily routine. Instead, the type of work Callahan does is largely dependent on the weather.
A calendar on the wall of his office recently had a few days in a row marked with a single word: “Fire.”
A stretch of dry weather — only recently interrupted by a few days of heavy rain — had Callahan and other pilots across the state flying for hours at a time looking for wildfires.
RELATED: Sturgeon spawning brings crowds to shores of Wolf River
RELATED: Crews still working to put out wildfire at Bruce Mound Winter Sports Area
The work has become increasingly important since the state stopped using lookout towers to spot wildfires a few years ago.
“We have such a good eye for all of that,” Callahan said.
And the work doesn’t end when he spots a plume of black smoke on the horizon. He also helps guide firefighters and other emergency responders on the ground.
“We help coordinate it from the air,” the pilot said. “We can see a lot better.”
The first time a pilot took to the air in Wisconsin to search for wildfires was 1915, when Jack Vilas, a Chicago resident, spent the summer flying daily patrols above forests in the northern part of the state.
A significant number of wildfires broke out across the state in late April and early May, leading Gov. Scott Walker to declare a state of emergency. At least 43 fires were reported in one two-day stretch.
The sporadic periods of wet and dry weather this spring have created unusual conditions across much of Wisconsin.
A statement released this week by the National Weather Service in Green Bay identified most of central and northeast Wisconsin as areas with potentially hazardous wildfire conditions. But in other places, heavy rains made rivers swell and flooded streets in a few communities.
Ryan Severson, a DNR forestry supervisor, said the department's pilots play critical roles in detecting wildfires and keeping firefighters safe on the ground.
“They can see what the whole fire is doing at any given time,” he said. “They’re a key safety mechanism for our firefighters on the ground.”
Callahan has other jobs too. He helps track wildlife, which can involve flying low enough to count eggs in a bald eagle's nest or using a transmitter to follow the movements of tagged fish.
Callahan has also been involved in a variety of emergency situations, including the search for the kayaker who went missing last month on the Embarrass River north of Shiocton. Callahan located the missing man's orange kayak within a few minutes of arriving in the area. He also spotted a red hat lying on the ground beneath the trees and asked searchers on the ground to head that way.
“That’s where they found him,” he said.
The kayaker, later identified as 47-year-old Charles McBride, didn't survive. But not all of the emergencies Callahan responds to end in tragedy.
RELATED: With wild fluctuations in Wisconsin weather, do we need rain or shine? It depends where you live
RELATED: Wildfire outbreak prompts state of emergency in Wisconsin
A few years ago, Callahan was asked to help search for a missing middle-aged man with cognitive disabilities. The weather was below freezing.
“I saw something in the middle of a cornfield, of all places,” he said.
The man had been missing for nearly a day by the time he was found in the middle of the field. He had hypothermia, but survived.
Callahan has been flying for nearly his entire adult life. He flew for the Army and Coast Guard for years. He even spent time working for an airline, but he wouldn't go back.
"This is much more rewarding and interesting," he said.
Read or Share this story: https://post.cr/2ruNNav
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2018/05/09/dnr-pilots-get-birds-eye-view-wildfires-and-wildlife/586862002/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "DNR pilots get bird's-eye view of wildfires, rising waters"
Post a Comment