As members of the Wildlife Research Network push to have a DC-10 airplane on a seasonal contract, California fire officials weigh the pros and cons.
By Elizabeth Arnold / Special to The Malibu Times and Laura Tate / Editor
Malibu residents and fire officials are on alert following the Shekell fire, burning near Moorpark, and with red flag warnings posted for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, which includes Malibu, through Thursday evening.
The Shekell fire has burned more than 9,600 acres, destroyed seven buildings, including five homes, and damaged 11 others, and caused preliminary estimates of $2.4 million in damages to area farms and ranches. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire was reportedly 80 percent contained.
Dry Santa Ana winds, and single-digit relative humidity has prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings for not only the SMMRA and Ventura and Los Angeles counties, but also for mountain areas, state parks and counties including San Diego north and inland to San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Kern and Tulare.
And while firefighters continue to work to contain the Shekell fire and people stay alert for signs of fire danger here, Topanga resident Tony Morris is preparing to head to Sacramento this Thursday to meet with state officials to convince them of the importance of using what he said he believes is an important tool in fighting fires-a DC-10 airplane.
Morris is heading north with Bob Cavage, president of the Wildfire Research Network, a nonprofit public safety, research and education organization that Morris founded in 2004, to meet with Ken McLean, deputy director of fire protection for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Morris says that the DC-10 can drop 12,000 gallons of fire retardant-a capacity that no other firefighting aircraft has. A DC-10 was used in the October Esperanza fire, although Morris said he feels it was called in too late. That fire started early Thursday morning, Oct. 26, and the plane was deployed the next afternoon. The CDF has the plane, called Tanker 910, on a call-when-needed contract, which allows the aircraft 24 hours to respond.
But, Morris said, “When we have a red flag warning, we need the Tanker 910 to be ready to go in minutes, not hours.”
Morris wants the state to put the Tanker 910 on a seasonal contract, which would mean the aircraft would have to be ready to fight wildfires immediately.
However, the cost of using such a plane to fight wildfires is a problem.
“California’s budget doesn’t have money for supertankers,” Morris said. “Money used for the Tanker 910 would have to be found.”
The call-when-needed contract for the Tanker 910, which is privately owned, costs the state $26,500 per hour. If the plane were to be put on a seasonal contract, the cost would be $5 million for the season, which is September through January.
The two SuperScoopers that the Los Angeles Fire Department leases from Canadair carry up to 1,400 gallons each of water, and can reload in 12 seconds. The three Fire Hawks owned by the department carry up to 1,000 gallons each. In August 2001, Los Angeles County contracted to lease the SuperScoopers for five years at an annual cost of $2.2 million, and a total of $11 million over the life of the contract.
While the DC-10 can carry almost 12 times more water or retardant than the helicopters or SuperScoopers, some within the LACFD say bigger isn’t necessarily better, pointing out the maneuverability of helicopters and smaller planes, especially in areas like Malibu with deep canyons and chutes.
CDF spokesman Michael Jarvis said the use of the Tanker 910 to fight wildfires is currently being evaluated. The Esperanza fire marked the fifth time the CDF used the Tanker 910 this season-the aircraft was also used to fight a fire in Washington this year.
Jarvis said that while CDF officials appreciate that people are concerned with fire prevention, the use of the Tanker 910 on a seasonal contract has to be looked at from many angles-including cost and overall effectiveness. He also said the CDF is looking into partnering with federal and local government to have the Tanker 910 on a seasonal contract.
“A lot of people think that we could use the DC-10 immediately if we had a seasonal contract,” Jarvis said. “But when it is brought in is determined by the firefighters on the ground. I am not even sure if the Tanker 910 would have been called into the Esperanza fire any sooner, even if we had a seasonal contract.”
Jarvis further explained, “The Tanker 910 is not an initial attack vehicle. There are some incidences where it wouldn’t work, such as in small fires. Weather, terrain, and the behavior of the fire have to be taken into consideration before calling in a DC-10.”