Member Meeting |
January 18, 2012 |
Fire Captain Chris Jurasek of CAL FIRE Sonoma Air Attack base
| Our Guest Speaker at the January 18th, 2012, membership meeting will be Fire Captain Chris Jurasek of CAL Fire. Chris commands the Sonoma Air Attack Base here at the Charles M. Schulz- Sonoma County Airport. He has served with CAL Fire air programs for almost nine years and he has eighteen years all together working with CAL Fire. He has also flown in helicopters with the California National Guard. Chris is the Air Tactical Group Supervisor operating aboard the OV-10 Bronco coordinating the aerial response at fires throughout the state. His role is much like a Forward Air Controller (FAC) operating with the Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps aviation units. Chris says while other Fire Captains operate on the ground, his fire truck has wings and flies. Many at this year’s Wings of Wine Country Air Show saw him and his aircraft scrabble in response to a real-time call out. |
 OV-10 “Bronco”Acquired by CAL FIREIn 1993, CAL FIRE acquired 16 OV-10As from the Department of Defense. Fourteen of those have been converted and are available for use as air attack planes. The OV-10s replaced the original cessna 0-2As that CAL FIRE had been using for air attack. The OV-10s are newer, larger, and faster, provide a larger field of vision for the crew and are more maneuverable than the older O-2As. CrewPilot and Air Tactical Group Supervisor |
Bio:Chris was born and raised in Sonoma County. He is from Glen Ellen and currently makes his home in Santa Rosa along with his wife and three children. |
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Location:
Mesa Beverage Company, Inc.3200 N. Laughlin Road. Santa Rosa, CA
Directions: From Santa Rosa, take Highway 101 North and exit at Airport Blvd. Turn left on Laughlin Road toward the museum. The Mesa building is located on the left side of the street just past the museum and Nob Hill south gate.
Missed one?
Don't miss the next one in 2012!
| January 18 | Fire Captain Chris Jurasek of CAL FIRE Sonoma Air Attack base. Captain Juresek will be speaking about the aviation firefighting mission located here at the Charles M Schultz - Sonoma County Airport. | February 15 |
Col. Pete Peterka US Army (Ret.). Speaking about his role as paratrooper and the Research & Development of parachuting in the US Army covering his 32 year career. |
March 21 | John Palmer US Army helo pilot in Vietnam. Speaking about his experiences flying combat in South East Asia. |
