In Pacoima, the Fire Department Air Operations unit maintains a fleet of helicopters year-round at Whiteman Airport. Within minutes of a call, the helicopters are off the ground, ready to respond to a fire.
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"As we move further into fire season and our field moisture begins to drop to a critical level, it's important for us to be able to have a fleet of aircraft that can operate in various types of terrain and conditions," said L.A. County Fire Batt. Chief Robert Gaylor.
Fire officials say the peak times they see the most fires are in the dry summer months. During this time, they temporarily bring in two additional types of aircraft to Van Nuys Airport.
"July 1 is when we brought on Helitanker 55, the CH-47 and that's a six-month contract. And then Sept. 1, we started a 90-day contract with the government of Quebec with the CL-415 Super Scoopers," Gaylor said.
The CL-415, Bell 412, Sikorsky S-70 and Boeing CH-47 all play an important role in the firefight.
"This is a Boeing CH-47D model helicopter. Specifically, what we use it for is water dropping, retardant dropping or gel dropping, whatever is needed for the operation," said Pilot Ryan O' Herron.
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The CH-47 also has night vision technology. 2021 was the first time ever fire retardant was dropped at night during the Caldor Fire.
"They wear special goggles and the instrumentations we have in here are set up for night operations," O' Herron said.
During a fire, you may have also seen yellow CL-415's dropping water from the sky. These aircraft are also referred to as Super Scoopers and have the ability to fill up a 1,600-gallon water tank in 12 seconds.
"There are two little scoops underneath that catch the water into the tanks by gravity because of the speed," said Pilot David Majeau.
The Sikorsky S-70 and Bell 412 are different sizes but both can drop water and lift people.
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