When seconds matter, emergency crews jump into action to save lives. But sometimes, the weather can impact operations, especially in West Texas.
High winds and low visibility can create problems for first-responders.
Fire crews across the South Plains were called to multiple scenes to combat fires that were made worse by the wind Wednesday.
“What would normally be a small fire can get out of hand pretty quick,” said Division Chief Steve Holland, with Lubbock Fire Rescue.
Holland said extra staff and equipment was brought in Wednesday as a precautionary measure.
For AeroCare Pilot John Kimmel, those high winds and low visibility pose threats to helicopter crews as they attempt to respond to scenes.
“The high winds and the low visibility certainly negatively impact our ability to provide patient care,” Kimmel said.
“The visibility is down to about 4 miles (Wednesday evening). Our company limit is 3 miles, so it’s getting very close to that where we would have to say no. Every pilot has their own personal limits on what they feel safe that they can and can’t accomplish. The winds right now (Wednesday) are gusting up to almost 58 miles an hour. So we have a starting and stopping limitation for the helicopter rotor blades of right at 58 miles an hour,” Kimmel explained.
“It would have to be done on a case-by-case basis to whether we could take that flight- exactly what are the conditions when the flight comes in, and what we’re expecting in the immediate future,” he added.
Kimmel said wind is generally beneficial to helicopter performance, to a point. Higher wind gusts could make situations unsafe for both the crews and patients.
“It’s West Texas, we have high winds and dust storms. So, sometimes they limit us, actually most of the time they don’t. It’s got to be pretty severe. Today (Wednesday) we are right on the threshold of being severe as far as impacting helicopter performance,” Kimmel said.
