NORTH COAST, Calif. — Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, or LNU, has welcomed two additional type-1 helitankers.
The helitankers arrived on July 1, 2022.
Cal Fire has positioned two contracted type-1 helitankers used as exclusive use for aerial firefighting operations in the LNU.
Helitanker 1CH from Columbia Helicopters will be based out of Napa County Airport, and Helitanker 37S from Siller Brothers will be based out of Sonoma Air Attack base at the Sonoma County Airport.
In addition to the unit's own Type-1 Cal Fire HAWK "Copter 104" based in Lake County, the region will now have three large helicopters not only arriving quicker to any new fire but can send local aircraft to multiple fires occurring at the same time.
These aircraft will be available for fire assignments in the greater Bay Area and all of California.
As rapid fires spread and concurrent wildfires will continue to be the norm, and areas throughout the state previously thought to be immune to large and damaging fires are proving to be as vulnerable as areas with active fire histories.
Cal Fire said the entire state is at greater risk of major fires than at any other time in recorded history.
That includes the redwood coastal belts and the more temperate areas of Northern California, as evidenced by the 2020 San Mateo and Santa Cruz Unit Lightning Complex, which burned over 86,000 acres and destroyed 1,490 structures along the coast range of Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties.
Additional surge equipment will be required to enhance Cal Fire’s ability to meet the increasing operational deficiencies created by a changing climate, meet demands caused by a year-round fire regime, and provide a deeper pool of available equipment.
In addition to Cal Fire staffed helicopters, the department relies on exclusive use contracted or “call when needed” helicopters to increase its aviation response. Contracts which are based on a call when needed premise do not guarantee the availability of a helicopter when the department calls, and these arrangements are usually implemented when a large fire is ongoing and not for initial attack response.
Cal Fire has experienced the reliability and dependability of exclusive use contracts in that they provide greater efficiencies in getting helicopters to the initial attack stage of fires.
Helitanker 1CH, a Boeing CH-47D Chinook, is owned and operated by Columbia Helicopters of
Aurora, Oregon.
Helitanker 1CH arrived at the Napa County Airport and has been on contract since June 16. This helitanker holds up to 2,800 gallons of water on a fixed tank, which is permanently attached to the aircraft. The fixed tank system also provides a safer operation since they do not have a bucket hanging underneath the helicopter while in flight.
Helitanker 37S, a Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane, is owned and operated by Siller Brothers out of Yuba City. Helitanker 37S arrived and has been on contract since July 1. This helitanker holds up to 2,000 gallons of water on a fixed tank.
“The S-64E helicopter features three experienced pilots — a command pilot, copilot and aft seat pilot, whose job is to guarantee precision on every job,” Siller Brothers reported.
These respective 2,800 and 2,000 gallon water droppers will enhance Cal Fire’s operations, ensuring that these mission critical resources are always available to respond to emergency fire events and operate safely in the field.
There will be additional firefighting resources that will help to address complex initial attack and large fire support operations. Cal Fire said this will not only increase its initial attack strength dramatically but will also reduce the time in getting these valuable resources to large fires as well.
The state also has on exclusive use contract this year three large air tankers with 3,000 and 4,000 gallon capacity as well as those normally available from Cal Fire’s partnership with the United States Forest Service.
These will be used in supporting roles behind the Cal Fire copters including the Cal Fire HAWK out of Boggs Mountain and the Cal Fire air tankers out of Sonoma, Ukiah, Sacramento and Chico, Cal Fire’s closest bases.
“Cal Fire LNU welcomes both Helitanker 1CH and 37S to the Unit and we look forward to working with both helitankers this year,” the agency said.
To learn more about Cal Fire’s Aviation Fleet visit https://www.fire.ca.gov/programs/fire-protection/aviation-program/.