Long-awaited federal wildfire aircraft expected to come to California. When can they fly?
The state and its fire protection agency will have to get them into shape, but the first of the seven C-130 aircraft could be in service by the end of 2024 when President
“We should celebrate the efforts of so many people and folks, taking a moment to reflect on how important and what an opportunity was accomplished today,” Pimlott said, “and obviously not taking our eyes off the ball.”
Five years ago,
Sen.
“These are aircraft that can mobilize quickly and attack wildfires to better protect our communities,” said Gov.
What will the firefighting planes do?
Fire retardant is used around the fire perimeter to slow its spread. Its effectiveness depends on winds, weather and terrain, but firefighters rely on it to quickly contain blazes.
“When those fires do escape initial attack because conditions, et cetera, that are causing that,” Pimlott said, “now you’ve got an aircraft that can be put in the mix as you need additional aircraft and provide more retardant to strategically put-in containment lines — you can do that more efficiently, more quickly.”
Delays in converting the aircraft
The
Years of delays and rising cost estimates led the Trump administration in late 2017 to scrap the idea.
The soonest planes were expected to get to
No longer, Padilla said: “While it has been a frustrating few years, ecstatic that these C-130s will be in the right hands soon and helping respond to wildfires very, very soon.”
Wildfire seasons in
This season, following a winter with atmospheric rivers and historic rain, was mild, as was 2022. But that trend won’t last, according to experts. Warmer global temperatures indicate wildfires could become more common and severe.
“It is absolutely recognized that 2023 was a modest fire season,” said
“When we have lives at risk, when we have communities at risk, we have to have the strongest all-hands-on-deck approach to suppression,” he added, “so that the private lands, the communities, our resources, our public trust resources are all being treated as such.”
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