Rule May Aid in Firefighting

After receiving criticism for its handling of last autumn’s wildfires, a state agency has rewritten a rule that prevented a sheriff’s helicopter from dropping water on the Cedar fire minutes after it was first spotted.

The new rule, written by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, gives helicopters up to one extra hour on firefighting missions at the end of the day. Prior rules prohibited choppers from taking off on any new missions 30 minutes before sunset. The new guideline allows helicopters to begin a mission as long as the pilots return to base half an hour after sunset.

During last year’s wildfires, a sheriff’s helicopter first saw the Cedar fire while searching for a lost hunter on Oct. 25. The pilot radioed a dispatcher, asking to pick up a bucket of water and drop it on the fire. The U.S. Forest Service dispatcher, however, denied him permission because it was a few minutes before that day’s 5:36 p.m. cutoff time for launching missions.

The fire killed 14 people and destroyed more than 2,200 homes.

Ever since, the state and federal agencies have faced criticism for their response.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection created the new guideline in response to the concerns, said Rich Green, assistant deputy director for fire protection.

“But ultimately, it will be the pilot’s call and his supervisor’s whether or not to go” close to sunset, Green said.

Pilots flying in the evening face more risks, said Dan Lang, department chief of fleet administration.

“The biggest danger is that they lose the ability to see wires -- power lines, telephone lines,” Lang said.

Other fire officials said the new policy would have made no difference in the October wildfires.

“Aircraft do not put out fires. Ground crews do, and [in October], the ground resources simply could not get access to the fire,” said Don Studebaker, deputy fire chief of the Cleveland National Forest.

“Everyone’s focused on the helicopter like it’s the single thing that would have made the difference,” he said. “But when you’re dealing with Mother Nature, you’re at the mercy of elements. That’s what drove the fire.”