California Archives - Fire Aviation

Cal Fire will finally get its C-130s

Kelly Andersson16. December 202317. December 2023Fixed wing, UncategorizedC-130, California20 Comments

Cal Fire is now one big step closer to getting seven military transport planes from the Coast Guard to fight fire after Congress passed legislation this week to speed up the transfer.

According to a Politico report, the National Defense Reauthorization Act contains language to expedite the legal transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the Coast Guard to Cal Fire. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing was selected to receive 8 new C-130J aircraft; the new aircraft will replace decades-old C-130H aircraft, which were supposed to have been transferred over to California years ago.

In a move by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator John Boozman (R-AR), and Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41), the final version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes an effort that recognizes the work of Governor Newsom and Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler, who pushed the effort over the finish line.

Aerial Fire Magazine reported back in October that it was nearly five years ago that Congress told the U.S. Air Force to convert the seven surplus USCG C-130s aircraft into firefighting tankers for California. It never finished the job, and now California just wants the planes. Period. “We were fortunate this year to have a fire season that wasn’t like we’ve had in previous years,” said Ken Pimlott, now-retired chief of Cal Fire. “But it’s coming back — this is only one year. We can’t afford to lose any more time getting these aircraft retrofitted.”

So California Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Ken Calvert added a provision in the 2024 defense spending bill to hand over the C-130s to Cal Fire immediately — whether they were finished or not.

In service for more than 60 years, the C-130 is a workhorse of military aircraft, used for decades for troop transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue, and weather reconnaissance. As airtankers they have a drop capacity of 3000 gallons.

“This transfer will save lives, improve air quality, protect forestlands, and reduce carbon emissions,” said Matt Dias with Calforests, the California Forestry Association. “Adding seven C-130s to California’s aerial firefighting force is a truly remarkable advancement.”

Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler said the C-130s will help reduce loss of life and property to California wildfires. “I look forward to these aircraft joining our world-renowned aerial firefighting force,” he said. “Between earthquakes, wildfires and other natural disasters, California is one of the most costly and challenging states for property insurers and owners.” He said California can’t prevent earthquakes, but it can fight fire.

When Biden signs the defense bill into law, the planes will be transferred, and California will enter into a contract for the work. The first of the seven planes will likely be ready in time for the 2024 fire year, adding immediate value to the state’s fleet.

KRCR-TV reported on the transfer back in August.

Matt Dias, president and CEO of the California Forestry Association, said the new aircraft will have the capacity to drop 3,000 gallons of retardant in less than five seconds, which is more than twice the load dropped by Cal Fire’s current S-2Ts.

“To be able to use aerial deployment of retardant for initial attack and suppression is really critical,” Dias said.

Retired Chief Ken Pimlott said the planes should give firefighters a big boost in future fire seasons, noting the engines on the C-130s. “In general they’re a bigger aircraft, they’re a four-engine aircraft where the S-2 is a two-engine,” he said. “Since it flies faster, it can return to the base and reload more quickly as well.”

The transfer has been delayed for years and became a priority for California’s firefighting agency. Coulson Aviation’s Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS) can be installed on virtually any C-130. The Coulson RADS-XXL is half the cost of competing systems — and one-sixth the weight — and it requires no additional crew or equipment. The RADS-XXL systems were selected for the Hercules C-130 aircraft fleet operated by Cal Fire.

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Orange County to purchase two Sikorsky S70 Firehawk helicopters

Bill Gabbert4. November 2022HelicoptersCalifornia, Firehawk, Orange County Fire Authority, Sikorsky S-70i2 Comments

Expected delivery Fall of 2023

One of Orange County Fire Authority's new Blackhawks to become Firehawk — One of Orange County Fire Authority’s new Blackhawks, which will become a Firehawk. OCFA photo, Nov., 2022.

On October 27, 2022 after nearly three years of planning and assessment, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Board of Directors approved the purchase of two new Sikorsky S70 Firehawk helicopters. The new aircraft will replace the two OCFA 1966 UH-1H “Super Hueys” that were grounded in 2020 due to significantly increased cost of operating these legacy aircraft.

Firehawks have become the industry standard across the Southern California fire service, and with this approval, the OCFA joins its surrounding peer agencies — Santa Barbara Fire, Ventura County Fire, LA County Fire, San Diego Fire, and CAL FIRE — that already have Firehawk helicopters in their respective fleets.

Brian Fennessy, Chief of the OCFA since 2018, told Fire Aviation in March 2020,“All four of our aircraft need to be replaced.” The Chief has served as Air Operations Branch Director on Incident Management Teams.

Previously when he was Chief of the San Diego Fire Department he commissioned an independent study to evaluate and recommend which type of helicopters the organization should be flying into the future. A Fleet Replacement Analysis by Conklin & de Decker Associates was conducted. After that study and one for Los Angeles County Fire Department in 2000 both departments purchased Sikorsky S-70i Firehawks.

Chief Fennessy contracted for the same consultant to do a similar study at OCFA. They evaluated and compared five helicopters; Bell 212HP, Bell 412EP, Sikorsky S-70i, Airbus H215 Long, Airbus H215 short. The study was underway in 2020 and apparently came up with similar results.

The new OCFA aircraft will join OCFA’s two Bell 412EP helicopters, providing the agency with four operational helicopters for the first time since 2020 and empowering OCFA Air Operations to perform day/night aerial fire suppression, remote rescues, and other all-hazard missions at a far safer and capable level. True force multipliers in battling wildfire, the Firehawk’s water-dropping capabilities eclipse that of the Bell412s by 256% per tank-load (350 gallons vs. 1,000 gallons).

Orange County Fire Authority helicopters — Orange County Fire Authority, helicopters 1 and 4. By Bill Gabbert, February, 2020.

Before the new aircraft are delivered to the OCFA in fall of 2023, they must first be transformed from Blackhawk to Firehawk by United Rotorcraft, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical equipment. This transformation will include digital cockpit upgrades for ease of navigation while fighting fire and a reconfigurable cabin that accommodates up to 12 firefighting crew members and their equipment during emergency operations.

When the photos of the one of the new helicopters was taken a few days ago it was at the United Rotorcraft facility in Texas, where typically the company applies new livery. Then they will flown to another UA facility near Denver for rest of the lengthy conversion process.

CAL FIRE receives another FIRE HAWK helicopter

Bill Gabbert23. October 202224. October 2022HelicoptersCalifornia, H-2026 Comments

It will be deployed at Bieber in Lassen County.

The new CAL FIRE Helicopter 202 arriving at McClellan in Sacramento, October 2022. It will be stationed at Bieber in Lassen County. Mike McKeig photo.

The tenth of twelve new Sikorsky S70i FIRE HAWKs arrived at the CAL FIRE Aviation Management Unit last week at McClellan Park in Sacramento.

It will be deployed in northeast California at Bieber in Lassen County.

CAL FIRE is replacing their 12 Vietnam War-era Huey helicopters with Firehawks. Two more are still being built by Sikorsky or are being outfitted for firefighting by a company in Colorado.

CAL FIRE Helicopter 202, Bieber — The new CAL FIRE Helicopter 202 after arrival at McClellan in Sacramento, October 2022. It will be stationed at Bieber in Lassen County. CAL FIRE photo.

Photos show retardant was dropped in Sespe Creek during Howard Fire

Bill Gabbert14. October 2022Fixed wingCalifornia, FSEEE, Howard Fire, lawsuit, retardant14 Comments

Map retardant Sespe Creek Howard Fire — Map showing location of photos of retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. The red area is the western side of the fire Oct. 12, 2022. The photo locations were obtained from the metadata in the iPhone photos.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleged that the US Forest Service has polluted waterways by firefighting air tankers inadvertently dropping fire retardant in or near waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act and a policy adopted by the Forest Service and other federal agencies in 2011. The policy requires that retardant not be dropped within 300 feet of a waterway on federal land.

Photo 1. Retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. Oct. 12, 2022. Peter Deneen.

Fire Aviation has acquired photos and a video that reportedly show signs of retardant being dropped into Sespe Creek on the Los Padres National Forest 8 miles northeast of Ojai, California October 8, 2022. The photos were shot by Pete Deneen on October 12, 2022 at the 85-acre Howard Fire. The creek is designated a “wild and scenic river” and is in a wilderness area.

The photos show retardant on rocks and other objects very close to water in Sespe Creek.

Some organisms, including aquatic threatened and endangered species or their habitats, can be adversely affected by retardants. In addition, retardant in water is a pollutant.

According to US Forest Service data, between 2012 and 2019, the Forest Service discharged retardant on at least 376 occasions totaling 761,282 gallons from aircraft directly into national forest waterways.

In the video below Mr. Deneen explains that there were two locations where retardant was dropped very close to the creek. In one case the aircraft may have turned as it was dropping to follow the creek for several hundred yards, or a second drop accounted for the retardant in the waterway.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 11 by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, FSEEE. In the group’s complaint they are seeking:

A declaration that the Forest Service’s placement of retardant in waterways is a violation of the Clean Water Act.
An injunction “to compel the Forest Service to comply with applicable environmental statutes, prevent irreparable harm, and satisfy the public interest.”
Reimbursement for FSEEE’s costs, expenses, expert witness fees, and attorney fees.
“Such further relief as may be just, proper, and equitable.”

More about FSEEE’s history of protesting retardant, and the federal government’s policy of retardant avoidance areas established in 2011.

Report shows use of four-helicopter Quick Reaction Force through the night limited final size of Route Fire

Bill Gabbert1. October 2022HelicoptersCalifornia, Quick Reaction Force, Route Fire3 Comments

In September it burned 5,280 acres north of Los Angeles between Interstate 5 and Castaic Lake

Quick Reaction Force helicopters. From the QRF report.

A report produced by the managers of Southern California’s Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of four helicopters concludes that the aggressive aerial attack working with the units on the ground likely limited the final size and cost of the Route Fire. The fire started at about noon on August 31, 2022 and ultimately burned 5,280 acres north of Los Angeles between Interstate 5 and Castaic Lake. (Download the 3.2 Mb report)

This is a different incident from the Route Fire that burned 454 acres a few miles away along Interstate 5 September 11, 2021. You may remember that fire as the one where 13 firefighters who were becoming rapidly entrapped were crammed into two US Forest Service engines and rescued with only moments to spare. There were 23 bodies in the two engines, with seating designed for five each. Another 11 firefighters not quite as close to the flames were rescued by Los Angeles County engines.

The four QRF helicopters are all staffed for 24-hour coverage and equipped for night flying. With most of their base funding supplied by Southern California Edison they are located in Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties. Two of the helicopters are CH-47 Chinooks, one is an S-61, and the fourth is an S-76 used for aerial supervision. The helicopters are dispatched as a unit along with a mobile fire retardant base and can drop water until the base is established. The fact that they can drop retardant 24 hours a day, when fixed wing aircraft can’t work the fire at night, can be a game changer. During the Route Fire the mobile retardant base did not have to travel, it was set up at its base about 10 miles from the fire.

The assignment given to the QRF by Los Angeles County Fire Department on the Route fire was for it to stop the spread to the north. The S-61 was tasked to hold a particular location on the fire, using water from the adjacent Castaic Lake. It averaged of 696 gallons per drop.

The two Chinooks dropped averages of 2,434 gallons of water per drop and 1,896 gallons of retardant per drop. The three suppression helicopters flew an average of 9 hours each that afternoon and into the night, dropping 223,000 gallons of water and 55,000 gallons of retardant. The S-76 was used for 17 hours. The total cost of the retardant and flight time for the four ships was $403,950.

Map of 2022 Route and 1996 Marple Fires. From the QRF report.

The report compares the Route Fire to the 1996 Marple Fire which started in about the same location at the same time of the day and time of year in similar weather conditions. By midnight the Marple Fire had exceeded 10,000 acres and continued spreading for two or three days until it was stopped at 19,860 acres.

Retardant line on north side of Route Fire, Sept. 1, 2022. From the QRF report.

In contrast, the spread of the Route Fire was stopped at 8 a.m. on Day 2. The three helicopters dropped water and retardant much of the night to hold it at a ridge on the north side, allowing hand crews and dozers to complete fire line.

It is very difficult to compare the suppression costs of two fires that occurred 26 years apart, but the authors of the QRF report estimated that the cost of the Marple Fire in today’s dollars would be somewhere between $70 million and $140 million. The cost of the Route Fire was $7 million to $8 million.

Cameras on firefighting aircraft filmed attack on brush fire in California

Bill Gabbert27. September 2022Fixed wing, HelicoptersCAL FIRE, California, S2T16 Comments

S2T and OV-10 attack the Still Fire

View from an S-2T air tanker while dropping on the Still Fire — View from an S2T air tanker while dropping on the Still Fire, Sept. 26, 2022. Still image from the video below.

The CAL FIRE Air Attack Base in Grass Valley, California posted this video on September 26 showing the view from an S2T air tanker and an OV-10 Bronco Air Attack aircraft as firefighters in the sky assist personnel on the ground on the Still Fire.

Internal and external cameras on the S2T captured the action from the cockpit as well as looking from the aircraft’s belly to the rear as 1,200 gallons of retardant is dropped on the fire. The Air Attack ship also had cameras and you can listen to the radio traffic with the helicopters, air tankers, and the Incident Commander on the ground as they coordinate tactics to stop a fast-moving wildfire which was threatening multiple homes and other structures.

The fire was held to 44 acres after it was attacked by firefighters on the ground and a total of 7 air tankers and 2 helicopters.

Helicopter working on Fairview Fire crashes near Banning, California

Bill Gabbert10. September 2022HelicoptersBell 206, California, crash, Fairview Fire, injury3 Comments

The three on board sustained moderate injuries

Helicopter crash, Fairview Fire, Sept. 10, 2022.

A Helicopter working on the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California crashed at about 3:30 p.m. today as it was returning to an airport at Banning. The pilot and two passengers were transported to a local trauma center for treatment of “moderate injuries”, according to fire officials.

The FAA said in a statement that the Bell 206L-1 Long Ranger crashed in a residential backyard while approaching the airport to land. The FAA and the NTSB will investigate.

From the description in the media it appears the helicopter may have been the platform for the Helicopter Coordinator.

The FAA registration number is N242BH.

The Fairview Fire has burned about 28,000 acres, but the spread slowed after rain moved into the area Friday afternoon.

CAL FIRE tanker pilot killed in off-duty plane crash

Bill Gabbert6. September 20226. September 2022Fixed wingCalifornia, fatality, T-836 Comments

air tanker 83 — Air tanker 83, an S2-T, drops on the Goose Fire, August, 2016. Photo by Bob Martinez.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has confirmed that, Ken Lancaster, the pilot killed in the crash of a privately owned small plane Monday afternoon was an off-duty air tanker pilot.

It occurred near Columbia Airport in Tuolumne County, California in the 23000 block of Seminole Drive, about a half mile north of the runway. Mr. Lancaster was flying the personal aircraft off-duty and was the only occupant.

The personnel who fly and maintain CAL FIRE’s S-2T air tankers and OV-10s work for Amentum. The Modesto Bee reported that the company said Mr. Lancaster began flying for the CAL FIRE program in 2016. He flew OV-10 air attack aircraft and later S-2T air tankers out of Columbia.

During the last four years he worked out of Columbia flying Tanker 83. Previously he was an A-10 Warthog pilot for seven years during his Air Force service, earning the nickname “A-10 Ken,” according to information released by Amentum.

The plane that crashed Monday was a single-engine Barnow Barry Vari EZE, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It crashed at about 12:10 p.m.