12/10/2023 0 Comments Cal fire helicopters![]() ![]() And we do that very successfully, especially in Southern California.īrian Fennessy: It took a lot of- they didn't have any familiarization with you know flying at night. Public wakes up the next day and unless they drive by it, they never know it happened. Joel Lane: So the 10-acre fire that you-that we catch 98% of the time, it's never gonna make the paper, you're never gonna hear about it. It was promptly doused by a quick reaction Chinook at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars, a fraction of what it would have cost if the fire had gotten out of control. If you never heard of the Tuna Fire, says Lane, that's a win. He told us about the Tuna Fire, which ignited in dry brush near Malibu last July. But Joel Lane told us it's money well spent. A helitanker can cost up to $15 million, and $8,000 an hour to operate. Hovering like some prehistoric bird, it sucks up 3,000 gallons in 90 seconds. Unlike fixed-wing craft that have to return to base, the Chinook can refill anywhere. The Chinook sweeps across the flames, drops its water, then heads to the nearest lake to refill. Wayne Coulson: So there, you've got all the individual embers coming up. A Chinook helicopter fighting a fire.īrian Fennessy: These fires get so large that there aren't enough firefighters, aren't enough airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers. Between the two infernos, more than 8,000 bone-weary firefighters fought a relentless battle. Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy – a former Hotshot who has been fighting fires in Southern California for 44 years – told us there was no more give in the system. Thousands of residents were forced to flee. To the north, the Dixie Fire rampaged for months, demolishing historic gold rush towns. The drought-parched forests burn so hot they generate their own fire tornados. The U.S. Forest Service was already short-staffed when the Caldor Fire exploded last August, churning toward South Lake Tahoe. It was an $18 million pilot program – that the fire chiefs hope will be a game-changer. And for the first time, the giant Chinook – you've seen them in other war zones –led the night assault. As we first reported last fall, a fleet of high-tech helicopters fought wildfires 24/7. So fire chiefs from Southern California stole a page from the military: taking the fight to the night. Fire chiefs warned there weren't enough aircraft to go around. Firefighters didn't have a day off for months. Two of the biggest fires in state history laid siege to more than a million acres in Northern California, burning dangerously close to Lake Tahoe. Drought and scorching temperatures turbocharged fires that were more extreme than ever. Last summer, California suffered one of the most savage fire years in its history. Taking the fight to the night against California's wildfires with new helicopters 13:38 ![]()
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