Air attack
How firefighting the Palisades and Eaton fires is coordinated from the sky.
Busy skies
Cal Fire had more than 60 aircraft within its firefighting fleet in the effort to combat fires throughout Los Angeles.
Cal Fire’s fleet of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft make it the largest civil aerial firefighting fleet in the world.
If air traffic controller is one of the most stressful jobs and firefighting is one of the most dangerous, then you get an idea of what it’s like to be an air tactical group supervisor.
Aircraft that douse flames with water and bright red Phos-Chek fire retardant are a common sight in California. Aerial firefighting requires municipal, county, state and federal agencies to communicate as a unit on the ground and in the air.
Fire Capt. David Hudson has been an air attack group supervisor since 2017 and is based at Hemet-Ryan Airport’s air attack base, which deploys aircraft to fires from the Pacific Ocean to the Colorado River. Hudson has worked for Cal Fire since 1998 as a firefighter, engineer, captain and battalion chief. Hudson says, “Cal Fire has air bases strategically located so aircraft can reach a fire in 20 minutes after a call.”
When above a fire, Hudson sits in the back of an OV-10 Bronco and coordinates with the ground commander on a strategy to get ahead of the fire and manage all the aircraft entering the fire zone.
“The dozers and guys on the ground put the fire out. Our job is to try and get ahead of the fire and box it in,” Hudson says.
In addition to coordinating where aircraft should go, the air tactical group supervisor tells pilots how much retardant coverage is needed.
A longer line is generally needed for grass fires. Brush fires, with their heavier fuel, require a more concentrated drop.
In addition to coordinating where aircraft should go, the air tactical group supervisor tells pilots how much retardant coverage is needed.
A longer line is generally needed for grass fires. Brush fires, with their heavier fuel, require a more concentrated drop.
This chart shows a 1,200-gallon heavy air tanker’s coverage length, in feet.
In the zone
It is illegal for any unauthorized manned or unmanned aircraft to enter the zone set around a fire.
Media choppers must fly 1,000 feet above the air tactical zone.
Command and control planes orbit the fire above 2,500 feet. They fly in a clockwise direction so they can better see the tankers and helicopters on the fire. The operations may be reversed depending on the wind and fire’s direction.
Almost all fixed-wing aircraft fly only during the day when they have visibility. Some have infrared technology to help map the fire and do fly at night.
The air attack supervisor communicates and coordinates with the ground commander and all the aircraft entering the zone to best target where to box the fire in with water or retardant.
Incoming tankers broadcast alerts at least 12 nautical miles away
Tankers have a flight orbit about 1,500 feet above the fire and fly counterclockwise. Smaller tankers can drop to about 150 feet when releasing retardant.
Large tankers like DC-10s and the 747 SuperTanker give notification far in advance of reaching the zone. Large tankers have a small lead plane that guides them to the area to drop retardant..
Helicopters have a flight ceiling of 500 feet above the fire. They can fly lower than 50 feet to make a drop.
Helicopters generally carry 270-1,000 gallons of water.
They sometimes operate at night.
The front of a fire is called the head.
Usually a fire has a left and right flank.
The heel of a fire is where it began.
Sources: Cal Fire, National Wildfire Coordinating Group</em