ISTANBUL (AP) — Underwater teams are trying to recover a helicopter that crashed in a lake over the weekend, killing three crew members, while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey, state media reported Monday. Four crew members were aboard the firefighting...
Marin County (CA) Firefighters Get Deal to Use PG&E Helicopter
Krissy Waite - The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif. Jun. 26—The Marin County Fire Department will have its own helicopter to fight wildfires this season. The department has reached a deal with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. as part of a new trial program....
New Firefighting Planes Sought Across the Warming Planet Are on Their Way, With a Little Delay
By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Production of a workhorse firefighting plane that is eagerly awaited in Europe to combat worsening mega-blazes fueled by climate change is running “a little bit” behind schedule, and the first will not be...
Two Pilots Walk Away from Boeing 737 Water Bomber Crash in Australia
PERTH, Australia (AP) — Two pilots walked away with minor injuries after a Boeing 737 jet converted for firefighting crashed in Australia, officials said Tuesday. The twin-engine tanker owned by Canadian-based Coulson Aviation crashed in Fitzgerald River National Park...
Video: Take a Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Los Angeles County (CA) Super Scoopers
For 27 years, Los Angeles County has had a partnership with Canadian Province of Quebec. Quebec contracts to send Canadair CL-415 Super Scoopers to California for assistance with wildland fires. Battalion Chief Pat Sprengel gives a tour of the Super Scooper...
Watch How Fast This Embraer C-390 Converts from Cargo Plane to Water Bomber
Embraer reported Monday that it has successfully completed the flight testing to receive certification the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS II), which allows the C-390 Millennium to be converted from a cargo plane to perform firefighting missions. Embraer...
CAL FIRE Helicopter Crash Injures Three Returning from Fairview Fire
A helicopter assisting with operations in the Fairview fire near Hemet crashed while attempting to land at the Banning Airport, fire officials said Saturday afternoon. The helicopter was privately owned, officials said, and crashed into a backyard just before 4 p.m....
Helicopter Water Drop Hits Hotshot Crew at Hermit Peak (NM) Fire, Three Injured
https://youtu.be/uT8oEnBdSJ8 A helicopter hit firefighters with a water drop at the Hermit Peak fire Sunday, injuring three of them. The incident took place at 10:30 a.m. at the fire, which is been burning since early April in the Santa Fe National Forest. Two of the...
Record Fleet of Super Scooper Aircraft Assembled at Santa Fe (NM)
A quick look at the airport in Santa Fe and the casual observer might think there was a convention of super scooper aircraft in town. That's because the location of multiple wildland fires in the Southwest makes the airport the perfect base of operations for both...
Pilot Killed Attempting Nighttime Air Drop Fighting Estes Park (CO) Fire
A pilot attempting a first-ever nighttime air drop in Colorado to fight the Kruger Rock wildfire in Estes Park has died. News 9 spoke with the pilot before take off. He was excited to attempt the nighttime drop, after five years of planning, in the hope it would make...
ForestTech Center Launched to Develop Integrated Technology Solutions to Combat Wildfires
The Advanced Mobility Collective Partners with the Colorado Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting to Foster Collaboration Winter Park, Colo. (Nov. 15, 2021) – The Advanced Mobility Collective has launched the first of its kind ForestTech...
Fuel Shortage Could Ground Firefighting Aircraft
By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Airport officials facing jet fuel shortages are concerned they’ll have to wave off planes and helicopters that drop fire retardants during what could be a ferocious wildfire season, potentially endangering...