Four helicopters from Coulson Aviation went on contract this week to provide firefighting support to Southern California as part of a “Quick Reaction Force” (QRF).
Local power company Southern California Edison (SCE) provided around $18 million in funding for the QRF aircraft, which are being operated under an exclusive-use contract that started June 15. The contract will run for up to 180 days through the summer and fall, when the ferocious Santa Ana wind events arrive with the ability to cause the fast spread of fires.
The helicopters include two Boeing CH-47D Chinook “very large helitankers” capable of carrying up to 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant, one Sikorsky S-61N with a 1,000-gallon belly tank, and a Sikorsky S-76 “Firewatch” helicopter for command and control (HLCO) purposes.
Orange County Fire Authority will be the host agency for one CH-47, the S-76, and a mobile retardant plant. Los Angeles County Fire Department will host the other CH-47, while Ventura County Fire Department will host the S-61.
Each host agency will manage their assigned helicopter as they would their own aircraft. If an agency is experiencing a wildland fire with the potential for rapid spread, then all four helicopters can be mobilized as a QRF to apply maximum force in the early stages of the fire.
All of the aircraft are equipped for flight under night vision goggles (NVGs), enabling them to continue operations at night when favorable temperature and humidity changes tend to slow the spread of fires. Although Southern California agencies have been conducting nighttime aerial firefighting operations for years now, this will be the first time that a helitanker as large as the CH-47 has been used to fight fires after dark.
