‘Super Scooper’ Is but One Tool

As spring’s flowers turn to fall’s fuel, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week took the smart move of approving a five-year lease of two “Super Scooper” planes, which can dump 1,400 gallons of water on a wildfire after a pass over an ocean or a lake. Even smarter, though, was the board’s recognition that the water-gulping aircraft is hardly a cure-all for the perennial threat of brush fires in Southern California.

The county will pay $1.2 million to lease the Canadian-built planes this season from the government of Quebec and up to $1.5 million annually for successive years. The contract wisely allows the county to bow out if it doesn’t have the money or if fire officials find an aircraft better suited to fight the region’s wind-fed blazes.

That’s a possibility. Despite dramatic demonstrations and a successful two-year trial here, the Super Scooper, officially the CL-215Y, remains plagued by questions over its performance in rugged terrain and in moderate to high winds--just the sort of conditions that feed brush fires. Particularly problematic is the accuracy of water drops.

County fire officials are working with the U.S. Forest Service to test a helicopter known as the Skycrane, which can carry more water than the Super Scooper, is more stable in high winds and is more accurate because it can hover. They’re also considering enlarging the tanks on the county’s existing fleet of helicopters and evaluating a water-dropping plane that one dealer claims is cheaper than the Super Scooper.

All the alternatives should be researched. As the board noted, the Super Scooper is good but not a panacea. No machine or gadget ever will be. Human carelessness sparks most area brush fires, and vigilance remains the best defense.