
image: DeHavilland Canada
The Los Angeles fires are a terrible tragedy, and the scope of their expansion with the Santa Ana winds provides yet other reason for increasing the aviation resources needed for firefighting in California and the Western US. If it seems like we’ve been here before, we have. Here’s a story we wrote in 2017 that could almost be republished today, and one from last September that further warned of the potential problem.
We have spoken before about the need for additional aviation resources, in particular the CL-515 Super Scooper aircraft that was purpose built for firefighting. It is an effective tool, and while not the only tool in the aviation arsenal, one that is under-represented in the US firefighting fleet.
A Potential Solution Does Exist
Aviation can’t prevent wildfires. But aerial firefighting can be an exceptionally effective tool in knocking down fires and containing their impact. Aviation can be particularly if a fire can be hit hard and early before it rapidly spreads.
A large fleet of specialized aircraft could dramatically knock down fires quickly, before they rapidly spread. Imaging a flight of 6, or 12, or even 24 super-scooper aircraft attacking a fire, rather than just 1 or 2. Knocking down a fire quickly, and continuing to douse it to prevent expansion, can be an effective deterrent.
Whether a Category 5 hurricane in Florida to massive flooding to more frequent tornadoes to larger wildfires, the impacts of climate change are visible in the exacerbation of disasters. We need to plan for the reality that the threat of wildfires will likely increase in coming years,
Being assets that can fly, aircraft could be deployed across the west, with potential bases in Northern and Southern California, Colorado and Idaho to enable quick response within a region, and joint response within hours is feasible should a major conflagration, such as the LA fires, occur.
The Question of Who Pays
But how should these resources be paid for? Let’s look at who benefits. Leading the list are everyday people whose homes might be saved, and their lives not turned inside out by losing a home. People depend on fire departments to protect them, but the impacts of climate change are creating “once in a century” weather conditions that result in catastrophic situation.
Those homeowners, hopefully, have insurance. The real beneficiaries of additional firefighting resources are insurance companies, who would save billions of dollars if fires can be brought under control more quickly. It would be in the insurance industry’s interest to fund firefighting capabilities, as they would pay out significantly less as fires are better contained. But getting them to consider the issue without governmental support is like herding cats.
With government politically divided and already playing politics about these tragic fires, it is difficult to believe they will move the ball forward.
The Bottom Line
We’ve seen massive fires before, and inaction by politicians, governmental entities, insurance companies and financier that could have solved the problem years ago. Today, we face the same issues once again.
There is an opportunity for new leadership to emerge and propose a win-win-win solutions for homeowners, insurers, governments and public safety. But given today’s politicization of the situation, we’re not hopefully that in today’s environment such a leader will emerge.
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