Supervisors OK Lease of Firefighting Helicopter
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to spend as much as $1.3 million this fiscal year to lease a water-dropping helicopter to help in its wildfire-fighting efforts.
The money for the Erickson Air-Crane “Helitanker” was approved without discussion, and will be used by the county Fire Department to augment its water-dropping SuperScooper airplanes and department-owned smaller helicopters during fire season.
The helitanker uses a giant “snorkel” straw to suck up water from lakes and oceans, and then hovers over a fire and makes precise water drops. The SuperScooper, by comparison, is less accurate because it drops water as it flies over a fire.
The helitanker, which has a 2,000-gallon tank, will be leased at $9,150 per day during the first two months of the fire season, and for $8,350 per day after that as needed, according to Fire Department officials.
The helitanker is expected to be operational between Monday and Oct. 25, while the SuperScoopers will go into service around Sept. 15, at the start of high fire season.
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