San Diego filling wildland firefighting toolbox

Friday, September 19, 2008

San Diego filling wildland firefighting toolbox

Bombardier CL-415 Superscooper
The aircraft’s fights fire by scooping up and dropping more than 1,600 gallons of water.

The new firefighting tools:

City of San Diego has reached an agreement with CalFire to fly aircraft to fight fires at night.
The supervisors approved the lease of the massive Bombardier CL-415 Superscoopers, Wildland firefighting planes in May for $3.4 million during the three-month fire season.

The pilots of the along with the spotter plane, demonstrated the abilities of the aircrafts – which can drop 1,620 gallons of water mixed with fire retardant. The average fire-fighting aircraft has less than one-fourth the capacity of the Superscoopers.

The supervisors approved the lease of the massive planes in May for $3.4 million during the three-month fire season.

The Bombardier CL-415 Superscoopers, along with the spotter plane, can drop 1,620 gallons of water mixed with fire retardant. The average fire-fighting aircraft has less than one-fourth the capacity of the Superscoopers.

“These aircrafts are two more tools in the toolbox in the fight against devastating wildfires,” Supervisor Pam Slater-Price said. “Our two new aircraft can help us to stop fires before they reach the City of San Diego and other cities.”

The planes can be airborne in about five minutes and can fly for three hours before refueling. In just about 12 seconds, the planes scoop water and infuse it with fire-resistant foam. The water bombers are being leased from the government of Quebec, Canada, which leases out the planes during the off season for fires.

In addition, the supervisor announced at the media event that the City of San Diego had reached an agreement with CalFire to fly aircraft to fight fires at night.
The supervisor recently authored the legislation which directed local fire agencies, including CalFire, to work together and find a way to suspend the CalFire policy prohibiting night flying to fight fires in San Diego County. As the top fire agency in the county, CalFire’s policy overrides all other fire agencies in such matters.

“This is an important step in protecting lives and homes regardless of when fires begin,” Slater-Price said. “I commend the state for working with us to help resolve this issue.

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, September 19, 2008