Action News’ Chopper Six crashes in wooded area of New Jersey; pilot and photographer killed

smoke_jumper

Piney
Mar 5, 2012
1,610
1,166
Atco, NJ
Very sad. Even as wet as it is out there it still started a fire.
A3A985BE-C21E-40EC-BF9A-8A9A29A56785.jpeg
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Boyd

smoke_jumper

Piney
Mar 5, 2012
1,610
1,166
Atco, NJ
A couple of weeks ago we found ourselves on Quaker Bridge Road. We decided to go down Mullica River Road. We found a new road marked every 50 yards in both sides. We walked the road to its end. It ends at the crash site. About a 1/2 mile off the main road. We could smell the jet fuel before we could see it. People were collecting pieces of it lined them up on logs as some type of shrine.
2A08FA85-E670-4C29-BA2B-CA9086DC2AB2.jpeg

The road they made to remove the wreckage.

D8937CD7-79C2-4BF8-8D1F-0CECC0C36719.jpeg

Standing at the final resting spot looking back towards the way they came in. And the make shift tribute.
 

Scroggy

Scout
Jul 5, 2022
86
123
Delaware
Thread crossover, but did they barricade/block the entrance of the newly cut road now that they're done with it?
 

smoke_jumper

Piney
Mar 5, 2012
1,610
1,166
Atco, NJ
Thread crossover, but did they barricade/block the entrance of the newly cut road now that they're done with it?
Two weeks ago when I was there it was not. While we were walking out 2 trucks came back and parked at the end. It’s actually a wide road and has an open space cleared where the probably staged equipment while they were working. It’s a short road and I doubt it would get abused since it’s high land and has no puddles.
 

Scroggy

Scout
Jul 5, 2022
86
123
Delaware
It's good that there's low potential for abuse. I'm just thinking about one of the issues raised on one of the MAP threads, that some of the "roads" in Wharton, etc., are firebreaks or things like this that weren't ever intended to be roads.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the Forest Service to say "hey, don't drive down this firebreak we just cut, we never meant it for a public highway", but they should establish that around the time they create it, so that people don't get used to driving down it. IMO budgeting for a barrier or a gate on a new firebreak, depending on future maintenance plans, should be a normal part of the operation, just like budgeting for the dozer and the diesel fuel. Maybe they do for longer firebreaks, but I feel like that would have attracted comment here.
 
Top