Firefighting Planes to Arrive Early
One day after firefighters contained the Marple fire north of Castaic, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved bringing two SuperScooper firefighting aircraft to the county 1 1/2 months early.
The board unanimously approved bringing the water-scooping planes to the county beginning Friday instead of Oct. 14, the original date.
County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman told supervisors that the earlier delivery date will not cost the county additional money.
Freeman said it became apparent early that the county needed the planes after the Marple fire started and indications suggested that this fire season could be one of the worst in 15 years.
So far this fire season, more than 22,000 acres have been destroyed in Los Angeles County, and more than 500,000 acres have burned in the western United States.
Traditionally, the worst part of the fire season in Southern California does not occur until October, when Santa Ana winds kick up.
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