County Leases 2 Planes to Aid in Firefighting

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a five-year lease Tuesday for two Super Scooper Aircraft despite doubts about the planes’ effectiveness in the windy conditions in which they are supposed to perform best.

The planes, which the county has leased on an experimental basis from the Government of Quebec for the past two years, should be in Los Angeles by October--when strong Santa Ana winds and dry brush have frequently led to devastating wildfires in Southern California.

Despite the concerns, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky--who co-sponsored the motion with Supervisor Mike Antonovich--said that the plane is the best alternative now available.

“It is June 25, fire season is not too far off,” said Yaroslavsky, who represents areas such as Malibu, Topanga and Calabasas that were hard hit during wildfires in 1993. “We need to get moving.”

The county will pay $1.2 million to lease two of the planes this year and a maximum of $1.5 million for the Super Scoopers in successive years, Yaroslavsky said.

The Super Scooper, officially the CL-215Y, has two tanks that can hold 1,410 gallons of water--about the same as 43 bathtubs. It can refill its tanks in just 10 seconds by skimming large bodies of water.

In the early 1990s, the Super Scooper was hailed as the answer to wind-driven firestorms--particularly those in canyon areas where fighting wildfires from the ground is both difficult and dangerous.

But an evaluation of the plane’s performance during the past two county fire seasons that was completed last month found that the fixed-wing airplanes failed to operate exceptionally well amid steep and mountainous terrain, especially in moderate to high winds.

The accuracy of the plane’s water drops in high wind and steep terrain were a particular problem, according to the Fire Department, because of its inability to hover.

The plane did, however, perform well over flat terrain, the report said.

The Fire Department, however, has few options to battle blazes in classic Southern California conditions.

“While they weren’t able to make as decisive an impact as we had hoped, we need everything we can get to fight wind-driven fires,” said county Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman.

Indeed, because the Super Scooper does not appear to be the ideal aircraft to fight blazes in heavy winds, the Fire Department and county supervisors are anxious for alternatives.

Through a joint program with the U.S. Forest Service, the county Fire Department will test a heavy lift helicopter called the Skycrane that is capable of carrying about 2,200 gallons of water and can hover, suck water and fly in high winds.

Additionally, the Fire Department is considering enlarging the water tanks on its fleet of Blackhawk helicopters. The department is also evaluating the Canso PBY-5A, a water-dropping plane called the “Water Bomber” that can hold 1,000 gallons and that one dealer said the county could lease year-round at half the cost of the Super Scooper.

“We are looking to evaluate as many aircraft as possible,” Deputy Fire Chief Darrell Higuchi told the board.

The contract with Canadair Inc., the manufacturer of the Super Scooper, allows the county to cancel if it lacks funds or if the Fire Department identifies another aircraft better suited to fighting wildfires, Yaroslavsky said.

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How The Super Scooper Works

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to lease two Super Scooper Aircraft to battle wildfires in the county during fire season for the next five years. Although the planes carry four times as much water as the county’s firefighting helicopters, their effectiveness has been debated because high winds hamper their ability to make direct water hits.

The Scoop

The plane can scoop from the Pacific Ocean as well as 15 other local bodies of water. The body of water must be at least 4,000 feet long, 300 feet wide and six feet deep. It can scoop in head winds to 45mph and waves to 5 feet. Here’s how it works:

1. As plane skims water at 100mph, pilot lowers the two 3-by-5-inch scoops (A).

2. Water rushes through scoops into two storage tanks (B).

3. In about 10 seconds, tanks are full and plane rises off water.

The Drop

With small spotter plane leading the way, the Super Scooper begins its drop of water or foam from as low as 150 fet. Foam, a soapy concentrate that helps water “cling” to vegetation, is often used in initial stage.

1. Pilot opens water drop doors, releasing water onto fire.

2. If foam is used, pilot uses control that forces foam concentrate from its storage tank (C) into water tank. Upon release, mixture puffs up to 25 times its volume.

Sources: Canadair; Los Angeles County Fire Department; Researched by JULIE SHEER, Los Angeles Times