Now that fire season is here, KSBY News got an up-close look at the new tool that fire officials say is offering fire protection at night.
In previous years, we’ve had helicopters like this,” said CALFIRE Assistant Fire Chief Tom Swanson. “But this year, the one that we have here is capable of night water dropping.”
A new CH-47 Chinook helicopter arrived at the Paso Robles air attack base just in time for fire season.
The new chopper can hold 2,300 gallons of water at a time and takes only 40 seconds to fully refill its tank, making it a major advantage in fighting Central Coast fires.
“The flight crew is able to use night vision goggles, to be able to see the targets on the ground and where the ground resources are, Swanson explains.
He says being able to tame fires at night makes all the difference.
It’s obviously going to be cooler at night, and the humidities are going to we’re going to get a good humidity recovery and allows us to take advantage of that, says Swanson.
The helicopters are strategically placed throughout the state, in fire-prone areas, and the Paso Robles Air Attack Base is housing one of six in the state.
Pilot Maciek Mankowski flew the helicopter last week to put out a fire in Lake Nacimiento. He says this helicopter is better than most at protecting homes.
“The tank that we have installed, we have the ability to regulate how much water we drop, which allows us to drop within close proximity to homes without damaging them,” Mankowski added.
He also says that the CH-47 can grab water from small bodies of water, which is not common for all helicopters.
Swanson wants the public to know that in the midst of fire season and with the use of this helicopter, its important that recreational drones dont fly when theres a fire in the area.
If you fly your drone, we can’t fly, he said.
According to CALFIRE, the helicopter is here for the summer on a four-month contract, but could stay after that depending on the amount of rain we get.