New program provides helicopters to fire-threatened part of California
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (CBS News) - Firefighters in California hope new tools and better coordination will help them in the upcoming wildfire season.
Millions of residents in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties are among the most vulnerable living in wildfire-prone areas.
Starting Tuesday, a six-month program will provide helicopters to fire departments in those counties.
"Southern California continues to face unprecedented times as wildfires destroy property and take lives year after year. This year is no different: we're once again in a drought, and the vegetation is extremely dry," said Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy. "With predictions of dire wildfires in the coming months, the Quick Reaction Force, or QRF Program was formed. Quick Reaction Force is a military term meaning "to rapidly respond to escalating situations that require speed and force. That's exactly what we need to battle wildfires more rapid and significant aerial fire suppression resources that will have a substantial impact suppressing or slowing wildfire growth."
The Quick Reaction Force (QRF) program includes two Boeing Chinook CH-47 helitankers and a Sikorsky S-61 helitanker.
"The QRF Program is a combination of aerial firefighting resources available to quickly respond from Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. It consists of two of the world's largest fire suppression retardant-dropping helicopters, the Chinook helitankers as we like to call them, the Very Large Helitankers, the VLHTs each has the capacity to carry three-thousand gallons water or retardant." said Chief Fennessy.
The CH-47s can carry three thousand gallons of fire retardant and have the rare ability to fly at night.
"There is a shortage of crews, then our boots on the ground help our firefighters to put out wildfires. So the fact that we're bringing these copters is a plus, a significant plus. And in the state of California sharing the objectives of the state is our objective to keep 90 percent of the fires ten acres or less. So these copters will significantly help us achieve this objective." said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby.
California witnessed its worst fire season in history in 2020. Wildfires blackened more than four million acres of land last year. They claimed 31 lives, and destroyed more than 8,200 structures.
