Early Arrival of Firefighting Planes Approved
One day after firefighters contained the Marple blaze north of Castaic, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved bringing two Super Scooper firefighting aircraft to the county a month and a half early.
The board unanimously approved bringing the water-scooping planes to the county beginning Friday instead of Oct. 14, the original date.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief P. Michael Freeman told the supervisors that the earlier delivery date will not cost the county additional money.
Freeman said it became apparent that the county needs the planes early after the Marple fire broke out and indications showed that this fire season could be one of the worst in 15 years.
So far, 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.
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