Firefighting Aircraft

A super scooper air tanker drops water on a hillside in la Canada Flintridge in December, 1999.

A super scooper air tanker drops water on a hillside in la Canada Flintridge in December, 1999.  (KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP)

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The air fleet that is expected to help quell the nation’s fires is composed of the nation’s oldest aircrafts.

Air tanker

A U.S. Dept. of Forestry tanker drops fire retardant in the Cleveland National Forest near Corona in September of 2001.  (DON KELSEN/LAT)

Oregon

An air tanker pilot watches as his plane is loaded with fire retardant in July, 2000, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  (GARY THAIN/AP)