Aviation officer Blake Freking walks toward a CL-215T firefighting plane at the Ely Air Attack Base near Ely, Minn., on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Freking, an aviation officer for the U.S. Forest Service, had spent the past four days battling a pair of fast-spreading fires from the airfield. (Wyatt Buckner / Forum News Service)
ELY, Minn. — Blake Freking struggled to recall what day of the week it was Wednesday as he paused to discuss the team effort mounted to slow the spread of the Camp House and Jenkins Creek wildfires from the air.
Small wonder. As an aviation officer for the U.S. Forest Service, the days of battling a pair of fast-spreading fires from the Ely Air Attack Base had been a bit of a blur.
A couple of De Havilland CL-215T scooper planes had just hit the tarmac, and crews quickly went to work preparing the valuable aircraft for their next sorties on the flames.
The airplanes arrived by way of Bozeman, Mont., and would be joined Thursday by another duo from Spokane, Wash.
With more than 140 homes already lost to the forest fires and more than 35,000 acres of land already blackened, it may seem difficult to imagine anyone uncovering a silver lining amid the ashes. But Freking did:
“There’s never a great time for a forest fire,” Freking said. “But at least the Rocky Mountains and California aren’t burning yet this year.”
He explained that air assets can be tougher to come by at times when multiple fires across the nation are competing for resources.
“Clearly, this is being viewed as a high-priority situation, largely because we have a lot of structures at risk,” Freking said.
Coordinating aircraft
Moments after touching down, pilot Mike Kinsey described what it’s like to scoop 1,400 gallons of water from the surface of a lake in 10 seconds. It’s a relatively smooth maneuver in choppy water, but tougher as waves kick up. The important thing is not to let the nose of the plane dip as it skims across the water’s surface, he said.
Then, loaded with water, he climbs, flying into position, under the radio direction of an aerial tactical group supervisor, surveying the scene mid-air from a Kodiak.
Mike Kinsey talks about his experience flying a CL215-T to battle the Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires. (Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group)
“We’re constantly taking commands from him, and he paints a picture in our minds, as we listen to what he’s telling us and all the other aircraft in the area,” Kinsey said.
Forest Service pilots also maintain direct radio contact with one another on another channel, he said, while simultaneously monitoring chatter between ground crews and the group supervisor.
With multiple aircraft working the scene, coordination is critical, Freking said.
“Especially with two fires burning this close together, the airspace can get a little tight,” he said.
Kinsey said he typically approaches his assigned target at an altitude of around 1,500 feet, dropping to 100 to 150 feet above ground level before releasing his liquid payload.
“At that height, just above the trees, you can have quite an intimate encounter with the flames and smoke,” he said.
At the opportune moment, Kinsey releases a thundering 12,000 pounds of water. The sudden change of weight causes the airplane to lift and buck, especially as it rides atop the rising convection currents of the fire below.
“It’s not as bad as a roller coaster, but you need to keep a strong hand on the flight controls,” he said, explaining the need to keep the plane level, despite its inclination to tip dangerously nose-up toward a potential stall.
Supporting role
A CH-47 Chinook departs the Ely Air Attack Base to battle the Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires on Wednesday. (Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group)
This is Kinsey’s third year battling forest fires from the air, and he said the work has taken him from Alaska to locations throughout the lower 48 states, flying missions in support of Canadian firefighting efforts as well.
He has helped notch numerous victories and has also seen plenty of destruction.
But Kinsey said it still pains him to see homes lost to fire. Flying over the Camp House Fire a day or so after the blaze began and surveying the number of houses destroyed below still made an impression on Kinsey.
“It’s just heartbreaking to see,” he said.
Air assets play only a supporting role, Freking said, often on the front end of the Forest Service’s firefighting efforts.
“Aircraft don’t put out forest fires. But they can cool them enough so that firefighters on the ground can get in there and finish the job,” he said.
In addition to fixed-wing aircraft, several helicopters have been deployed to Ely as well, including large Type III Chinook choppers that can suck up 23,000 gallons of water from a lake in 31 seconds, using powerful hydraulic pumps and 18-inch-diameter intake tubes.
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A small crowd of local onlookers gathered to take in the scene Wednesday afternoon at the Ely base.
Stefanie Kosinski was there with her five children, ages 3 to 14. They live just a couple of miles away from the airfield and had seen aircraft of all sorts flying overhead for the past several days.
“The kids were curious. So we came by to get a closer look, and of course to say, ‘Thank you,’ ” she said.
One of the Forest Service pilots offered to show the children around a Chinook awaiting its next flight, too.
Kosinski expressed her gratitude to the pilot but noted that he waved it off, saying: “These youngsters are the ones that are going to be doing this job one day.”
