Readers know that we’re bigtime supporters of dam removal — especially if it’s accompanied by massive use (we prefer overuse) of explosives. In fact — in conjunction with Steve Z of Sipping Emergers, we’ve formed the “Take ‘Em Out With B17s” nonprofit organization, and while this explosion on the Elwha (used to loosen bedrock under the old spillway) isn’t quite in that class, we’ll accept it as a starting point:
Fire in the Hole from John Gussman on Vimeo.
That yellow lightning looking thing is the electrical charge used to set off the explosives, and I have no idea how or why it works that way. But cool is cool.
A good start. At least they’re finally blowing stuff up; back-hoes with jack hammers and industrial saws are just so dull, dull, dull.
They could have improved this event with some minor theatrics. Perhaps a barrage balloon floating over the scene and a fly over of vintage aircraft.
Clearly they haven’t read the Take Em Out with B-17s Foundation’s “How to spice up your dam removal if you’re too lame not to bomb them properly” Brochure.
Steve Z(Quote)
Maybe we’re thinking a little too vintage here — the Greatest Generation is disappearing from positions of power pretty rapidly.
Maybe now we should look for a more Top Gun crowd and use F-15 Strike Eagles (or my favorite, the A10 Warthog).
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Perhaps a sister organization, “Society for Smart Bomb Impoundment Removal”.
Steve Z(Quote)
Flying fortress rules!
About time that the Norden bombsight and Brown Shoe Air Force’s potential role in stream restoration were considered.
Sully(Quote)
Not to mention their usefulness in the political process (I’m thinking Pebble Mine…)
Tom Chandler(Quote)
The “yellow lightning” is the Det-Cord (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonating_cord) used to set off the main charges in a controlled and planned manner.
Randy S. Breth(Quote)
It looks like lightning; it’s actually burning that quickly?
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Det Cord isn’t like the stuff used by Wile E. Coyote. It’s an explosive itself so it doesn’t “burn” but it serves the same purpose as the Wile E’s fuse. Connect a few explosives with Det Cord and use some sort of detonator (sorta like Wile E’s match) to start the explosion and everything goes up pretty much at once. Good for home improvement projects.
Steve Z(Quote)
Hell. There goes my only frame of reference.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
The Yellow Lightning is DetChord (Dedonating Chord) ignighting and carrying the electrical initiation from one main ignighter through to the various charges in the demolitions train. DetChord is basically a thin, plyable, plastic tube, packed with the explosive PETN. PETN explodes extreemly rapidly and thus is used to make all the charges detonate within a fraction of a second of eachother. The lightning that you see is actually the light given off by the exploding PETN.
Most commercial (and military) demolition personnel use DetChord to initiate their charges. Electric blasting caps are quite sensitive, and running long lengths of electric (copper) wire out to each charge requires a very strong battery to send enough electricity through the lines (to compensate for losses of power due to normal conductivity loss) to get to the caps to set off the explosives.
On the ground the detonation of Detchord is near instantaneous, and you do not see the “lightning” in person most of the time. It only shows up on video for the most part… and I agree.. it’s pretty cool to see.
Ceamus(Quote)
See, we’re not even going to ask how it is you know so much about explosive, but I can say I’m going to be very, very careful not to make you angry…
Tom Chandler(Quote)
It’s amazing what they teach you in the Army – I am actually commenting from Baghdad at the moment. The one thing about DetChord that most people do not know, is that although it looks remarkably like a very thick fly line.. it doesn’t roll cast very well and throws horrible loops (or that may have just been me).
Ceamus(Quote)
Makes for some real motivation to avoid tailing loops (boom!).
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Yeah, it’s funny – I know about DetCord mostly through a fishing buddy who does blasting – and I read to much.
Randy S. Breth(Quote)