Magnolia Fire Department personnel were at the Magnolia Airport Wednesday afternoon filling planes with water, used by the Arkansas Forestry Commission to fight a forest fire northwest of Stephens in Nevada County.
A spokesman with the AFC office in Little Rock said this morning that AFC officials estimate the fire involved between 500 and 530 acres total. No homes were lost, and no injuries were sustained.
Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) planes dropped water on the fire on Wednesday. The SEAT planes are brought in by contract through the AFC during Arkansas’s two primary wildfire seasons every year from February-April and August-October.
These seasons are mainly tied to the following factors: 1) Dry vegetation (dry February - April because of winter dormancy and lack of rain before spring green up; dry August - October because of summer temperatures and near drought conditions for lack of rain), 2) Low humidity (below 30-40 percent), and 3) gusty winds (of above 10 mph).
Fire Chief Greg Pinner said filling the planes with water was a much simpler process now than in the past, which involved several trucks to get water to the airport for filling the planes. Since the Magnolia Water Utility installed hydrants and laid water lines at the airport, water from the Walker Water Association is readily available. “You’ve got no trucks here; all you’ve got is two guys here. It’s a lot better,” he said. Pinner was assisted by fireman Nolan Duncan.
According to Pinner, these planes can hold between 500 to 700 gallons of water. Around 1:30 p.m., he said they had already filled five planes with water.
These planes are from a private company, stationed in Malvern, and contracted out to the AFC.