Economic Scenarios

Fires in Los Angeles: One of only two available Canadairs knocked out by a Drone!

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Drone's collision with a water-dropping aircraft during the Palisades fire in Los Angeles caused the temporary grounding of all aircraft involved in the fire and knocked out one of the two amphibious aircraft capable of repeatedly picking up 1,600 gallons, 5,000 liters, of water from the ocean and spread it on nearby flames , Cal Fire said

A Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper turboprop plane collided with a drone around 10 a.m. local time yesterday, Cal Fire spokesperson Chris Thomas told The War Zone .

The disruption of the Super Scooper and the temporary grounding of other firefighting aircraft were a blow to crews trying to put out the huge fire, one of many burning in the Los Angeles area. Thousands of homes were destroyed in the neighborhood located between Malibu and Santa Monica. There were also five deaths in the fires.

Here is the image of the wing damaged in the crash, which put the plane on the ground.

“This is creating a huge danger,” Thomas said. “It is an unprecedented fire. By the time we stop all the planes, it could be 15 minutes to half an hour. You know how far a fire can spread in half an hour."

The Super Scoopers have been making dozens of flights a day, with multiple drops on each flight, meaning Cal Fire loses the ability to drop tens of thousands of gallons of badly needed water until the damaged aircraft it will not be repaired. The Super Scoopers fly over the fire, release the water and then head into the ocean to resupply, a process that takes about five minutes. This is a unique capability, at least for Cal Fire, as fixed-wing firefighting aircraft of similar size or larger must land at an airfield to refuel and cannot conduct continuous launches in a single sortie to counter a rushing line of fire .

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 8: A firefighter battles flames from the Palisades Fire as it burns homes on Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in Malibu, California. The rapidly evolving fire has grown to more than 2,900 acres and is threatening homes in the coastal neighborhood amid intense Santa Ana winds and drought conditions in Southern California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) Apu Gomes

The drone was flying despite the temporary flight restriction (TFR) imposed by the FAA over the area from January 9 to 23 to prevent any aircraft, manned or drone, from interfering with firefighting efforts. The drone was piloted by a photographer who was filming the flames, as reported by the LA Times .

“It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting operations on public lands ,” the FAA said in a statement. “ Additionally, the FAA may impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with fire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations when temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are in effect. The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers enforcement action for these infractions. The FAA has not authorized anyone other than Los Angeles fire operations to fly drones in TFRs.”

With the winds having calmed down a bit, the air attack is well underway, day and night. Other fires have broken out in recent hours, threatening suburban areas. This is why it is essential that every possible resource works to the maximum of their capabilities. Unfortunately that won't be the case for one of the Super Scoopers.

Few firefighting planes

Furthermore, it is very serious that there are only two firefighting planes of this kind in service at the moment in California, among other things obtained with a loan from Canada. To make a comparison, Italy, with a territory much smaller than California, has 14 of these planes in service, of various versions, as well as numerous helicopters.

California instead had to borrow them from Canada, and the results are showing. Half of Los Angeles burns and the firefighters seem helpless.

Meanwhile, Governor Noewsom pretends to call Biden to avoid answering questions.

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The article Fires in Los Angeles: One of only two available Canadairs knocked out by a Drone! comes from Economic Scenarios .

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/incendi-a-los-angeles-uno-dei-soli-due-canadair-disponibili-messo-fuori-uso-da-un-drone/ on Fri, 10 Jan 2025 12:30:44 +0000.