Greece to have 15 more firefighting aircraft than last year

Ten Erickson Air Cranes
At least 9 Erickson Air-Cranes photographed together for the first time. October, 2021 in Greece. Photo by Dimitris Klagos. (According to a report from Erickson, there may have been 10 Air-Cranes at the site.)

Greece will strengthen its ability to fight wildfires by having 15 more aircraft than last year, after the government paid an old debt that accumulated over a six-year period.

Because of internal problems, some say corruption, instead of contracting for firefighting aircraft within their own government, between 2011 and 2016 Greece leased air tankers and helicopters through NATO’s Security and Procurement Agency (NSPA). However, according to Athens News, during that period a €8.4 million debt accumulated and NSPA stopped providing the aircraft to Greece. It recently got to the point where according to NSPA regulations, the other NATO countries were going to have to pay the debt. But in January Greece paid what was owed and the NSPA issued a tender for 76 million euros on behalf of Greece’s Hellenic Fire Service. Applications closed February 21.

This year the Hellenic Fire Service expects to have twenty Air Tractor single engine air tankers (up from six last year) and eight Bell helicopters (up from six last year) which have an integrated water tank and can also carry personnel. This year they will once again lease two large Air-Crane helicopters, an ATR 42-500 fixed wing transport aircraft, and a Russian Beriev Be-200 amphibious scooping air tanker (as it did last year).

These aircraft will add to the twenty helicopters (twelve medium and eight heavy) already leased by NSPA under a previous ongoing tender, as well as to the “permanent” fleet of aircraft and helicopters in the country. Thus, the total number of aerial firefighting aircraft this year will increase to 93 from 78 in 2021 (+15).

In 2021 Greece experienced devastating fires beginning in early August, burning 309,000 acres which approached the sum of the burned areas of the previous eight years (2013 – 2020).

Below is a report about the blazes posted by the New York Times August 9, 2021.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.

Forest Service says there’s not enough time to issue new helicopter contracts for 2022

A current helicopter solicitation that is now paused was offering 1-year contracts

helicopters Hopps Helibase
With the FAA control tower in the background, crews prepare helicopters at the Hopps Helibase for the day’s missions on large fires around Colville, WA August 25, 2015. Photo by Tom Story.

With the expiration of contracts for firefighting helicopters looming, the US Forest Service began the lengthy process of issuing new contracts for 2022 on July 7, 2021 with the posting of a “presolicitation.” The new concept was based on a one year contract. The FS would have had the option at their discretion to extend it further in one year increments, up to 9 years for Call When Needed (CWN) helicopters and up to 4 years for Exclusive Use (EU) ships.

In addition to just a one year guarantee, there were new requirements for equipment to be added to the aircraft requiring significant additional expenditures for the private companies bidding on the services.

There are reports that some potential vendors were very unsatisfied with the changes. The FS contracting office posted more than a dozen versions of the presolicitation between July 7 and December 6.

Finally on December 13 they threw in the towel, saying, “The USFS has determined there is not enough time for an adequate response from industry, a complete evaluation by the government, and ultimately timely award prior to the start of 2022 mandatory availability periods.”

Here is the full text from the December 13 update:

The intent of the USFS for acquiring helicopter services for 2022 is as follows:

1. Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) for 28 – Type 1 helicopters having 120-day mandatory availability periods.

2. 6-month Exclusive Use (EU) contract extensions for 34 – Type 2 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items.

3. 6-month EU contract extensions for Type 3 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items.

4. The USFS will continue to review and refine the Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) solicitation. The USFS intends to make parent awards Summer/Fall 2022, with task orders being competed/awarded after parent awards.

The USFS has determined there is not enough time for an adequate response from industry, a complete evaluation by the government, and ultimately timely award prior to the start of 2022 mandatory availability periods. 

The December 13 update did not mention CWN helicopters, so we asked USFS Fire Communications Specialist Stanton Florea about their status. He replied:

The existing Call When Needed (CWN) Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) will be utilized for both Type 1 and Type 2 CWN helicopters. The BOA will be used as noted for both Exclusive Use (EU) and CWN Type 1 contracts in 2022. We will award the EU 28 120-day Mandatory Availability Period Type 1 contracts using the CWN BOA to fill the 28 EU line items.

Moving to 10-year contracts for firefighting aircraft was mentioned several times in an April 15 hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, featuring U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen and her testimony.

“One thing I’ve been dealing with,” Rep. Mike Simpson said, “are the aviation assets of the Forest Service… Are we going to have a clear outline for the next 10-year plan for what the Forest Service needs in terms of air assets? How the five and ten year contracts you’re looking at will affect us and benefit us and what we need to put into our budget to so that the Forest Service has the necessary equipment to address these wildfires?”

“We are studying the question about going to a 10-year contract, what the pros and cons are,” Chief Christiansen said.” We’re nearly complete with that report. It will be going through clearance in a matter of a few days and it will be getting to the committee here shortly. So we’d be glad to discuss more about air tankers. But we think we are really on the right track with our air tankers.”

In September an article on Fire Aviation about this current presolicitation included an opinion from the vendor of a Type 3 helicopter who requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. Here is an excerpt:

“This draft Request for Proposal is such a massive and violent change from what has been requested in previous contracts that most operators aren’t going to be able to handle it. We operate Type III helicopters and are now faced with 40+ pounds of equipment (costing over $60k per aircraft) to meet minimum requirements – things that we really don’t need like a Traffic Avoidance System (but the ADS-B they required last year isn’t good enough) and a loudspeaker (because yelling at the fire helps?). Oh, and don’t glance over the cockpit camera, which they want even on restricted category bucket ships. The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000. How’s about an STC for personal electronic devices, only available from one company, nobody else in the industry even knows what the hell the STC is or is for! But you better pay for it, USFS says!

“Once we get all of that figured out, turns out that the increase in performance specifications at 7,000′ / 30°C combined with the added equipment pretty much eliminates legacy ships from meeting performance requirements. They essentially want a Sky Crane to do a Jet Ranger’s job. A lot of the operators that will get pushed out because of this RFP do a lot of irrefutably safe work when fire season peaks, or when resource work is needed, with excellently maintained legacy platforms at great value to the taxpayers.”


Our take

Less than three months after Forest Service Chief Christiansen said the agency was going to release a report “shortly” about the feasibility of moving to 10-year contracts, they issued a presolicitation for helicopter contracts that guaranteed one year. (Fire Aviation has requested a copy of the report.)

In December, 2017 the US Forest Service cancelled a five-year EU contract it had issued the previous year for two CL-415 water scooping air tankers. So a one year contract with each additional option year at the discretion of the agency with unreliable congressional funding is not a concept that makes potential vendors feel all warm and fuzzy.

That year the FS also reduced the number of Type 1 helicopters on EU contract from 34 to 28 and cancelled a solicitation for up to seven large air tankers, citing a lack of funding.

In 2018 when the Forest Service began issuing one-year contracts for air tankers we wrote:

Few if any vendors can simply write a check to purchase and convert an air tanker, so they have to convince a lender to give them large sums of money usually even before they have a contract with the USFS. With this new one-year contract policy, obtaining those funds could be even more difficult.

Below is an excerpt from the Missoulian:

“They’re only offering a one-year contract,” said Ron Hooper, president of Missoula-based Neptune Aviation. “We can’t go to the bank with a one-year contract to finance airplanes. They just laugh at us.”

Even if a vendor received a guaranteed five-year contract it can be difficult to establish and implement a long-term business plan that would make sense to their banker and the solvency of the company.

These one-year firefighting aircraft contracts need to be converted to 10-year contracts, and the number of Type 1 helicopters must be restored to at least the 34 we had for years.

Australia finalizing aerial firefighting assets as bushfire season approaches

The number of Air-Crane helicopters is being reduced from six to one

Australia Fires Air-Crane
An Air-Crane helicopter drops muddy water on one of the fires in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, December 30, 2019. Photo by Ned Dawson for Victoria State Government.

The Aussies are putting the finishing touches on their lineup of aerial firefighting aircraft as the country moves into the 2021-2022 summer bushfire season. The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) expects to have contracts in place for five large privately owned large air tankers, one more than last year, in addition to the 737 owned by the government of New South Wales.

Fixed wing, large air tankers (LAT) for 2021-2022:

  • Two Avro 146-RJ85 LATs supplied by Field Air in partnership with Conair. These will be located in Avalon, Victoria (early-mid December for 84 days) and Dubbo, New South Wales (October 20 for 152 days).
  • One Q400 supplied by Field Air in partnership with Conair. This is a shared arrangement between Queensland and Victoria, with 84 days being served at Bundaberg, QLD from Sept. 1, after which it will move to Avalon, VIC for 84 days.
  • One LAT, either a 737 or a C-130 (still to be decided) supplied by Coulson Aviation (Australia), based at Richmond, VIC for 98 days. Commencement date uncertain, usually late November.
  • Arrangements are pending for an additional LAT on a national contract to start in mid- to late December, with a home base still to be decided.
  • One 737 owned by the NSW government.
Firefighters Victoria, Australia rappel training
Firefighters in Victoria, Australia conduct rappel training in 2021. Coulson photo.

Eleven large type 1 helicopters are on contract this year, which is two more than the previous bushfire season. The start dates listed below are approximate.

  • One Boeing CH47 at Bankstown, NSW from approximately November 1 for 120 days, supplied by Coulson Aviation (Australia).
  • One EH60 Blackhawk at Bankstown, NSW from approximately October 1 for 120 days, supplied by Touchdown Helicopters.
  • Two Blackhawks, an EH60 and a UH60, at Serpentine, Western Australia from early-mid December for 105 days – Aviation Utilities t/a United Aero Helicopters.
  • Two UH60 Blackhawks, at Claremont, South Australia from early-mid December for 84 days – Aerotech Helicopters.
  • One Bell 214 ST, Latrobe Valley, VIC — McDermott Aviation.
  • One Boeing CH-47D, Essendon, VIC — Coulson Aviation Australia.
  • One Sikorsky Air-Crane S64F, Moorabbin, VIC — Kestrel Aviation.
  • One Sikorsky S61N, Mansfield, VIC — Coulson Aviation Australia.
  • One Super Puma AS332, Ballarat, VIC — Kestrel Aviation.
Erickson Air-Cranes Melbourne
Six Erickson Air-Cranes in Melbourne in 2009.

For years there have been multiple Air-Crane helicopters on contract in Australia, often six each year, but this season there will be only one. Last year there were six, plus three S-61s.

Josephine Stirling, Deputy Director of NAFC told Fire Aviation the six Air-Cranes had been supplied by Kestrel Aviation, an Australian company which had a partnership with Erickson.

“The contract was for three guaranteed years and expired June 30, 2021, the fourth year option was not taken up – which is a matter for the states and territories, who decided to go to tender instead,” Ms. Stirling said. “However, Kestrel were successful in their tender to us for one aircrane in Essendon for the next three guaranteed years – alongside a Super Puma.”

NAFC is a business unit of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC). NAFC’s primary role is procurement of aircraft leases on behalf of the States and Territories and the administration of Australian Government (federal) funding to support the States and Territories.

In addition to the large air tankers and Type 1 helicopters, many other aircraft, more than 150, will also be on exclusive use or call when needed contracts. About 110 will be mostly used for firebombing, and others for air attack, winching, rappelling, reconnaissance, and specialist intelligence gathering. These numbers include 51 single engine air tankers (SEATs).

Forest Service makes major changes in helicopter contracts

One vendor said new requirements could reduce the number of helicopters on contract

White Draw Fire, South Dakota, June 29, 2012
White Draw Fire, South Dakota, June 29, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The U.S. Forest Service, the agency responsible for awarding federal contracts for large air tankers and firefighting helicopters, is proposing a number of very significant changes to the helicopter contracts. The agency has posted a second draft of a new Request for Proposals (RFP) and will hold a virtual meeting about the contracts on September 29.

SAM.govOne of our readers whose company has been providing helicopters on the previous contracts has some opinions about the changes the Forest Service is pushing. They requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. Here is what they wrote. It has been lightly edited.


The Call When Needed (CWN) “Parent Contract” is a 1 year with 9 option years contract, with Exclusive Use (EU) contracts being bid *through* the parent contract for 1 year with four option years. In each case, only the first year is guaranteed.  They claim that 2 times throughout the 1/9 year parent contract, they will allow onboarding of new vendors/equipment.  But only when they decide, of course!  Sounds like a great schedule to buy a “next gen” helicopter.

This draft RFP is such a massive and violent change from what has been requested in previous contracts that most operators aren’t going to be able to handle it.  We operate Type III helicopters and are now faced with 40lbs+ of equipment (costing over $60k per aircraft) to meet minimum requirements – things that we really don’t need like a Traffic Avoidance System (but the ADS-B they required last year isn’t good enough) and a loudspeaker (because yelling at the fire helps?).  Oh, and don’t glance over the cockpit camera, which they want even on restricted category bucket ships.  The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000.  How’s about an STC for personal electronic devices, only available from one company, nobody else in the industry even knows what the hell the STC is or is for!  But you better pay for it, USFS says!

Once we get all of that figured out, turns out that the increase in performance specifications at 7,000′ / 30°C combined with the added equipment pretty much eliminates legacy ships from meeting performance requirements.  They essentially want a Sky Crane to do a Jet Ranger’s job. A lot of the operators that will get pushed out because of this RFP do a lot of irrefutably safe work when fire season peaks, or when resource work is needed, with excellently maintained legacy platforms at great value to the taxpayers.

Add to this that they are wanting us to throw all of this money into our aircraft to get on the contract (which is now a 10 year contract!) while simultaneously saying that they fully intend on moving to “modern” helicopters that are built after the year 2000 and are all twin engine.  But they won’t tell us when they are doing that, just that as we bid on EU work within the CWN contract eventually they are going to want “modern helicopters”.  The only modern type III helicopter we can find that meets the requirement is $6.4m which is triple the value of our 5 type III helicopter fleet (and we own a Type III light twin, it’s just too old for the Forest Service’s liking).  Type II’s?  There are only 2 options and they are well in to the 10’s of millions of dollars.  Say goodbye to the 205 and 212, its brand new 412EPX’s or nothing.

The biggest issue overall is that this contract is a prerequisite for our other federal and state work such as state fire and wildlife survey, etc.  Without a federal contract, we can’t get carded – and without cards, we can’t work for the state.  So, because the Forest Service wants to push all but the “top tier” of their options out, they are essentially putting every government agency’s resources at risk.  We can only hope the upcoming DOI on-call helicopter RFP due out later this year isn’t so crazy.

We are all for the push for better equipment for our wildland fire efforts… but the USFS can’t do the change this suddenly and without any industry input.  There is obviously some back door dealing going on with this RFP as it very specifically pushes money to certain equipment providers and tips the hat to certain helicopter companies.  The question and answer document shows the USFS is unwilling to be understanding – its our way or the highway, thanks for nothing.  We have gone a few years in the past 10 where we had zero USFS work at all based on fire behavior… but they want their random equipment to be installed on our dime.  It’s driving us away from government work and I’m truly worried about the availability of rotor assets next year if they end up going through with this wish list RFP.

I know we aren’t alone in how upset we are with the Forest Service right now.  A quick peruse through that Q&A shows that dozens of operators really gasped when this RFP came out.  The arrogance and dismissal by the FS with most questions being answered “Noted, Language will remain as written” just adds frustration to irritation.  Thanks for giving us a voice

The United States has nearly run out of large air tankers

The Forest Service hoped to have 16 working on CWN contracts, but could only find 5

Tanker 15 drops on fire
Tanker 15, on contract with CAL FIRE, drops on the Dixie Fire near the Placer 1 and 2 crews of the California Conservation Corps. Photo by Jason Barrett, of the CCC.

More than 21,000 personnel are battling 66 large wildfires in the early portion of an extremely busy fire season and the US Forest Service (FS) has activated all of the privately owned large air tankers (LATs) that they possibly can. There are no more available in the country.

The FS is the federal agency responsible for contracting for the large fire-slowing aircraft that can carry 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of retardant, or in the case of the DC-10’s, up to 9,400. The FS does not operate any government-owned air tankers; they are all privately owned, working under contracts administered by the FS.

As this is written on July 28, there are 18 LATs active on Exclusive Use (EU) contracts and 5 on Call When Needed (CWN) contracts, for a total of 23. In addition, the FS has borrowed the only LAT that Australia has, a 737, which flew across the Pacific a few days ago.

Five military C-130 Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) have been called into action that can carry up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant. Theoretically there should be eight available at all times during the fire season, but we were unable to find out from the FS if it would be possible to activate the additional three.

Some of us who follow the industry and aerial firefighting may or may not be surprised that the FS could only muster 23 LATs on EU or CWN contracts, because for years the agency has told the public and Congressional Committees that they have “up to 35 (or 34)” air tankers.

On May 17, 2021 Fire Aviation was told by a spokesperson for the FS that this year they would have 34 LATs if needed — 18 on Exclusive Use Contracts guaranteed to work, 8 “surge” LATs guaranteed to work for a shorter period of time, and another 8 on Call When Needed (CWN) contracts. Of those 16 surge and CWN aircraft, only 5 could be produced.

In a Senate Committee hearing on June 9, 2020 John Phipps, US Forest Service Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry said, “We have up to 35 large air tankers (LATs)… and we are well under way for our planning and preparedness for the upcoming western fire season.”

On December 5, 2019 the FS said they had signed Call When Needed (CWN) agreements for air tanker services with six companies for a total of 35 aircraft. The number “35” was misleading because most if not all of the 13 large air tankers on exclusive use (EU) contracts at the time also had CWN contracts; some were being double-counted. That brought the CWN number down to around 22.

It turns out that leaning on that “up to” 34 or 35 number year after year has been a very weak crutch. “Up to 35” can mean any number between zero and 35. It should not be that difficult to count these huge aircraft, especially considering how much they cost to operate.

Some of the Western states have either realized that they can’t count on the federal government to supply them with air tankers when the need arises, or they have recently adopted a more aggressive approach to attacking new fires. Three states this year have leased a total of five LATs that are inspected and carded by the FS, capable of working on EU or CWN contracts for the FS if they had been offered the opportunity. California has augmented their fleet of 23 S-2T’s with two BAe-146’s and one MD-87, Colorado has hired one BAe-146, and Oregon is leasing an MD-87. In addition, the state of Washington has picked up on contract one LAT that had been working on an Alaska contract, a Q-400 operated by Conair. As far as I know the Canadian-converted Q-400 has not been blessed by the Interagency Air Tanker Board in the US, but the state organizations are not bound by that organization. There are also a handful of 1,600-gallon scoopers (CL-415 type) working for states, and too many 700-gallon single engine air tankers to count.

“Three [aircraft that have Forest Service CWN contracts] are operating in Canada,” said Stanton Florea, a Fire Communications Specialist for the FS. “Seven are not operational. They were either not built as airtankers, the companies cannot staff them, or the companies are not making them available to be on contract.”

There is a possibility, Mr. Florea said, that Canada could loan the US some air tankers or scoopers if they were available, through an agreement between the US National Interagency Fire Center and the Canadian Forest Fire Centre. However, the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario have their hands full with their own fires — they are flying in firefighters from Australia to provide assistance.

CWN aircraft may or may not be immediately available during the fire season, with mechanics and crew members available to suddenly drop what they were doing and start flying fires. In 2017 the average daily rate for large federal CWN air tankers was 54 percent higher than aircraft on exclusive use contracts. But CWN costs are charged to the virtually unlimited fire suppression accounts, so the Forest Service does not care about using taxpayer’s dollars in that manner. And they are not held accountable.

While these numbers may have changed since 2018, it is unlikely that the differential between EU and CWN has changed much.

Over the last 10 years the average number of LATs on EU Forest Service contracts was 14.0 for the United States. The average number on EU contracts from 2000 through 2009 was 28.3. This year there are 18, which is 5 more than last year.

The FS goes as far as they can with the limited, insufficient funds appropriated by Congress and approved by the President. If the planes don’t exist when needed, new and emerging wildfires can more easily escape initial attack and grow into huge blazes, or megafires that can consume more than a million dollars of taxpayer funds each day. In the 14 days the Dixie Fire has been burning homes and hundreds of thousands of acres in Northern California, it has also been eating an average of $4.5 million in suppression funds every day. If some of that was instead spent on prescribed burning and additional EU air tankers, it might save money in the long run.

One of the lessons learned this year and others like it, is, Congress must appropriate adequate funds for the five land management agencies to pay firefighters a living wage, conduct more prescribed fires, and have at least 40 large air tankers and 50 large Type 1 helicopters on exclusive use 10-year contracts instead of 1-year contracts.

The peak of the Western US wildfire season is usually in August, but in 2020 the day with the highest number of fire personnel mobilized was September 19 when the record was set with 32,727 assigned to wildfires.

The outlook for August, September, and October predicts weather that will be hotter and drier than average for the Western US, which, if accurate, will lead to an above average fire season in the Western US. The live fuel moistures and Energy Release Components in many areas are already near or above the all time extremes.

Three-month outlook
Three-month outlook for August, September, and October, 2021.

United States borrows large air tanker from Australia

A 737 Fireliner is flying across the Pacific

Bomber 210, a 747 air tanker
Bomber 210, a 737 air tanker. NSW RFS photo.

It wasn’t that many years ago that Australia rarely if ever used large air tankers to assist “fireys” on the ground who were suppressing bushfires. But today their one and only large air tanker is flying across the Pacific to assist firefighters in the United States who are spread thin battling 61 large wildfires across several western states.

Bomber 210 (N138CG) has refueled in Hawaii and is on it’s last leg before landing in the United States. It is expected to be deployed for 45 days.

N138CG en route to US
New South Wales Rural Fire Service 737 air tanker en route to the United States makes a stop in Hawaii July 21, 2021. Coulson Aviation image.

When it arrives, Coulson will prepare the aircraft for operations within the US, which may take a few days.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service purchased the 737 air tanker from Coulson Aviation in May of 2019 after using one on a contract basis during the 2018-2019 summer bushfire season.

In addition to the Boeing 737 Fireliner, NSW purchased two Cessna Citation V Lead/Intelligence Aircraft in 2019. All of the aircraft were accompanied by a ten-year operational contract for Coulson to provide all flight and maintenance personnel.

 

Colorado signs contract for exclusive use large air tanker

Neptune Aviation's Tanker 10
Neptune Aviation’s Tanker 10. Photo courtesy of Colorado DFPC.

A large air tanker is on an exclusive use (EU) contract with the state of Colorado. The state’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) has arranged for Neptune Aviation to station one of their BAe-146’s in the state this summer. The 120-day contract began June 24 and the aircraft was dispatched that day to its first fire, the Muddy Slide Fire 22 miles south of Steamboat Springs.

The signing of Senate Bill 21-049 earlier this year provided funds for a State-contracted large air tanker, a Type 1 helicopter, and increased the number of days existing DFPC Single Engine Air Tankers and helicopters are under contract. The legislation also provides additional funding and resources so that DFPC can better support fire departments and counties during the early stages of a wildfire.

The DFPC adopted the recent policy of the U.S. Forest Service, only making the contract valid for one year, with the possibility of four additional one-year periods.

The BAe-146 can hold up to 3,000 gallons of retardant but may have to reduce the loads on hot days in the higher elevations of Colorado.

The aircraft will hosted at Jeffco Air Tanker Base, a US Forest Service facility in Broomfield at the Rocky Mountain Regional Airport. There are five bases in Colorado that can support large air tankers: Durango, Grand Junction, Jeffco, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs.

In 2020 the DFPC had a 75-day EU contract for Air Tanker 23, a P-3 Orion operated by Airstrike. The choice of the aircraft came as no surprise since it was already under a call when needed arrangement with the state.

Federal government has 201 fire aircraft on exclusive use contract this year

Federal fire aircraft on contract, 2021
Federal fire aircraft on contract, 2021. Where there is no CWN entry, there ARE some on contract, but the number that could be activated is not clear.

The five federal land management agencies have 201 aircraft on exclusive use contract this year for assisting wildland firefighters, according to the information we received from spokespersons for the agencies.

In 2016 the FS hired 34 Type 1 helicopters on EU contracts but starting in 2017 reduced the number to 28. The fleet remained at that level until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 when they added an additional 22 ships for a total of 50. The agency felt the “surge” helicopters were necessary to mitigate a possible decrease in the effectiveness or numbers of their ground forces — engines and hand crews. In addition, the federal land management agencies said last year they were going to limit the number of less-than-full-suppression fires and attack new ignitions aggressively.

This year there will be 20 Type 1 helicopters on surge contracts, for a total of 48. These are the largest-capacity helicopters used for firefighting, capable of carrying 700 to 3,000 gallons of water.

Over the last 10 years the average number of large multi-engine air tankers (LAT) on exclusive use (EU) US Forest Service contracts was 14.0 for the United States. The average number on EU contracts from 2000 through 2009 was 28.3. This year there are 18, which is 5 more than last year.

Tanker 131 drops on the Cloud Fire
Tanker 131 drops on the Cloud Fire in Southern California June 12, 2021. USFS photo.

Due to the pandemic last year the FS gave about seven companies hybrid surge Call When Needed (CWN) LAT contracts that were basically EU, but for 90 days, rather than the typical 160-day EU Mandatory Availability Period. The rates they negotiated were generally less than the typically high CWN rates. For a while they also activated four additional LATs on a true CWN basis, with no guarantee of days worked.

This year there are 18 LATs on EU contracts and 8 more could come on later on surge contracts, with an additional 8 possible, the FS says, on CWN contracts.

Size of USFS Large Air Tanker Fleet
Number of USFS Large Air Tankers on Exclusive Use contracts.

As of June 9 there were 17 LATs actively working on EU contracts, one scheduled to begin its EU contract on June 20, and one CWN that was activated June 9.

All of the LATs and Very Large Air Tankers on EU contracts can hold up to 3,000 gallons of retardant, except for Coulson’s C-130 (4,000) and the 10 Tanker DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker (9,400).

In addition to the LATs and Type 1 helicopters, this year the additional aircraft on EU contracts among all the Federal wildland firefighting agencies include:

  • 43 Type 2 helicopters (smaller than Type 1 helicopters)
  • 41 Single Engine Air Tankers
  • 0 Multi-engine scooping air tankers
  • 26 Air Tactical fixed wing
  • 27 Aerial Supervision fixed wing
  • 14 Smokejumper fixed wing
  • 2 Infrared mapping fixed wing
  • 1 Large passenger aircraft (typically a 737)

The Federal government also has the ability to activate up to eight military C-130 aircraft equipped with 3,000-gallon Modular FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) if additional LATs are needed. The Governors of the four states in which they are based may also activate the two within their state.