Firefighters in California are battling the fires from the sky using a variety of specialized aircraft that dump water and fire retardant onto the terrain below.
Firefighters in California are battling the historic fires from the sky using a variety of effective and specialized aircraft that dump water and fire retardant over Los Angeles. The state’s fleet includes tactical planes, air tankers and helicopters. All have specific roles and capabilities but work together as a unit to combat the fires that have been raging since Tuesday and have claimed 10 lives and torched tens of thousands of acres.
Tactical planes often lead tanker planes, with the former providing directions and coordinates to the tankers and firefighters on the ground. According to Reuters, most of Cal Fire’s tactical planes are North American Rockwell OV-10 twin-turboprop, multi-mission aircraft that served with the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force until the 1990s. Cal Fire’s fleet of tankers then drops fire retardant onto the terrain below.
In this case, your city is burning to the ground, so using the saltwater is not that bad,' he told Fox News Digital. Additionally, fire hydrants don't use saltwater because they are not corrosion-resistant, but firetrucks can use saltwater. They just have to be close enough to get it and require thorough cleaning afterward. Fire retardant isn’t dumped directly onto the fires.
The pilots who man these aircraft are known as aerial firefighting pilots, or waterbombers. Mixon says pilots are from different backgrounds, but many previously served in the military. They typically have to undergo specific training on their respective type of aircraft to handle their unique capabilities and systems. Most aerial firefighting pilots already have years of experience flying before they ever take to the skies in a firefighting aircraft.
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