Wildfires threaten lives, property, and natural ecosystems. Fighting them presents incredible challenges for ground-based firefighters. Terrain, spread speed of fire, and the overall scale of the blaze makes aerial support indispensable.

Aerial Firefighting

While crews on foot work endlessly to combat the wildfires, aircraft play a vital role in fighting fires by providing quick response, wide coverage, and suppression strategies that greatly assist in containing the fires. Converted, or specialized planes and helicopters can deliver water, fire retardant, or even smoke-jumping crews to areas where they are most needed.

Surprisingly, the primary goal of aerial firefighting is not to extinguish the fire, but rather, provide invaluable support to the ground team. In many cases, it is simply too hot and dangerous for those facing the flames to continue their work in areas without the assistance of the aerial firefighters.

Types of Aircraft Used in Firefighting

Various types of aircraft are used for firefighting, each serving a specific, critical purpose. This includes airtankers, water scoopers, lead planes, air attack planes, smokejumper planes and helicopters.

Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT)

The smallest of the airtankers, this fixed-wing aircraft is used primarily to put out hotspots (areas of land where a fire has either just started or is hot enough to blaze up at any moment.) SEATs such as the Air Tractor AT-802 carry up to 800 gallons of water or fire retardant. Their small size makes them more maneuverable and able to operate from shorter airstrips close to fire zones.

Large Airtanker (LAT)

Sometimes referred to as "Next Gen" airtankers, LATs have a carrying capacity of 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. These include aircraft such as the P2V, HC-130H, RJ85 and C-130. They are ideal for wide-area coverage and creating firebreaks which are strips of bare ground or non-flammable material that act as a barrier to slow or stop the spread of fire. Firebreaks create a safe space for firefighters on the ground to combat the fire as well as give people time to evacuate.

Very Large Airtanker (VLAT)

These massive planes are designed to hold up to 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in a single load. This is equivalent to roughly three loads dropped by a LAT. VLATs fly around 200-300 feet above the ground to ensure precise delivery of the retardant onto vegetation. Their speed and range allow fast response to fires in areas that are difficult to access.

A prime example of a VLAT is the DC-10. A converted McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide-body jet, it can carry up to 9,400 gallons of fire retardant in its exterior belly-mounted tank. Its entire contents can be released in a single pass up to a mile in length in a mere eight seconds.

Airtanker loads in general are not dropped directly on the fire, except in those cases where it can be used to prevent a small fire from becoming a large one. More likely, their cargo of water or fire retardant is released in front of the fire to direct its course or slow its advance. Ideally, this gives the ground team the opportunity to control or extinguish the fire.

Regardless of its size, airtankers must make incredibly low flights to be effective. Low flights such as these are difficult and extremely dangerous.

Water Scoopers

In contrast to airtankers that receive their liquid cargo while on the ground, amphibious aircraft such the original Canadair CL-215 and the Bombardier 415 skim the surface of a body of water to load their onboard tanks. These "Super Scooper" planes then release the water from 100-150 feet above ground level and repeat the process until refueling is needed.

Some Water Scoopers can hold up to 1,600 gallons of water at a time and it takes only a mere 12 seconds to fill their tank. They can scoop from water sources such as lakes and rivers that are roughly 6.5 feet deep and 300 feet wide.

Lead and Air Attack Planes

High-performance aircraft known as lead planes are typically the first firefighting planes to be sent to the scene of a wildfire. This includes aircraft types such as the Beechcraft King Air 90 and King Air 200. Their job is to assess the regions for the rest of their team and guide airtankers to the areas where they should dispense their fire retardants.

Air attack planes such as the Twin Commander 500 and 600 are highly maneuverable and can stay airborne for hours to serve as the eyes in the sky for the team on the ground. These planes ensure safe aviation operations through constant communication with other aircraft. If needed, they can also act as lead planes to lead airtankers to their designated drop zones.

Smokejumper Planes

Not all firefighting aircraft drop water or retardant. Some planes such as the DeHavilland DH-6 Twin Otter, Dornier 228 and CASA 212 are equipped to safely deploy specially trained firefighters into remote fire zones by parachute. These firefighters, known as smokejumpers, typically jump from about 3,000 feet above the ground.

Many times, after the smokejumpers land, the plane circles back to drop additional supplies, such as chainsaws, food, and medical equipment, via cargo chutes.

Helicopters

Type 1 or heavy-lift helicopters like the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane and Boeing CH-47 Chinook are the largest and fastest flying helicopters used to combat wildfires. They can carry 700 to over 2,000 gallons of water or retardant via a bucket or a snorkel that fills an internal tank.

Medium-sized helicopters (Type 2) such as the Bell 412 and UH-60 Black Hawk can carry around 300 gallons of water or fire retardant. They are also commonly used to move specialized teams of firefighters known as helitack crews, along with their gear to remote or difficult to access locations.

The smallest of helicopters used in aerial firefighting are considered Type 3. These carry approximately 100 gallons of water/retardant in a bucket that hangs below the aircraft. They can transport smaller helitack crews, are highly maneuverable, and are ideal for precision water drops.

One advantage of firefighting helicopters is that they can hover over fires, navigate tight spaces, and make repeated drops with minimal delay. They are also able to operate from remote bases, refill from small water sources, and perform rescues.

Full Service FBO in Toledo, Ohio

Wildfires are certainly not common here in Ohio. And while we have not had the honor of welcoming an aerial firefighter on our ramp, we do regularly fuel aircraft of all sizes.

Grand Aire operates the only 24/7/365 full-service FBO at the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport (KTOL.) We offer a wide variety of amenities including a spacious lounging area for guests, private sleeping quarters for pilots and aircrew, separate snacking area, free Wifi and more.

In addition to aircraft fueling, we also offer services such as de-icing, baggage handling, customs clearing assistance and aircraft catering, just to name a few.

If your travels bring you to KTOL, let us put our experience to work for you. Give us a call at 1-800-70-GRAND or email our team directly at [email protected].