As out-of-control wildfires threatened thousands of Los Angeles residents earlier this month, the companies that fight infernos from the air raced to send their air tankers and water bombers to the area. It was supposed to be the off-season.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, has more than 60 fixed-wing and rotor-wing firefighting aircraft, which it calls the largest civil fleet of its kind.
But the federal government, U.S. states and countries from Australia to Chile to South Korea hire companies that have their own private fleets of specially outfitted aircraft to help tame fires.
“I was lucky to have two” aircraft available to help fight the flames, said Joel Kerley, CEO of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company has a fleet of four converted DC-10 aircraft, known as very large air tankers, or VLATs.
The wildfire season in the U.S. normally runs from April to about November, when 10 Tanker and similar companies are under round-the-clock contracts with the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency. In 2023, the U.S. Forest Service extended a 10-year contract worth as much as $7.2 billion to 10 Tanker and four other providers.
Outside of those months, providers are generally on a call-when-needed basis. And demand for their services continues to rise, year-round, these firms say.
Wildfires are expected to become even more prevalent and severe in the 21st century, according to the United Nations Environment Program. The United States Environmental Protection Agency said data appears to show that the area destroyed by wildfires in the U.S. has gone up over the last two decades.
“There’s not enough air tankers to go around,” said Kerley, the former aviation manager for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, part of the Department of the Interior.
Some countries that have faced severe wildfires in recent years, like Australia, have been building up their own fleets of firefighting aircraft. Kerley said they will need to expand their fleets or companies like his will have to get bigger to meet growing demand.
Kerley said the Palisades and Eaton fires were some of the most complicated to fight. Fed by hurricane-force winds, they leveled entire neighborhoods like Altadena and were some of the worst ever in California. They were also a reminder to firefighters, government officials and the public that fires could spring up when they’re least expected.
Those two fires have consumed more than 37,000 acres and damaged or destroyed over 16,000 homes, buildings and other structures, making them two of the most destructive wildfires ever in California. At least 28 people were killed, according to Cal Fire.
Kerley said days into the new year he was asking his crews of pilots and mechanics to travel to blazes he equated to “the Super Bowl” of fire response. 10 Tanker’s planes have dropped more than 273,000 gallons of fire retardant on the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Both of those fires were largely contained as of Friday, but companies like Kerley’s were still on call as the Hughes fire was spreading rapidly north of Los Angeles, prompting a new round of evacuations.
Since the devastating Los Angeles blazes struck during what is supposed to be the region’s off-season for wildfires, some of 10 Tanker’s aircraft were stuck in routine maintenance earlier on in the battle. And he wasn’t alone.
“We’re in heavy winter maintenance on all of our aircraft,” said Sam Davis, CEO of Belgrade, Montana-based Bridger Aerospace, which has a fleet of Canada-made Super Scoopers that scoop up water as they’re flying along the water and dump the water near fires. They can make several trips on one flight.
“It was a push to get the first aircraft out the door,” Davis said.
In November, Bridger reported record revenue and profits for its third quarter, saying “continued dry weather in the western U.S. kept multiple aircraft operating into November.” It increased its revenue estimates for the year to as much as $95 million from a previous range of between $70 million to $86 million.
Growing fleets of new aircraft isn’t easy or fast.
Kevin McCullough, president of Aero Air, which also provides air tankers, sent some of its MD-87s to the Los Angeles fires. He said it can take about a year and a half to convert a jet into a tanker to fight fires.
“It isn’t like you just throw a tank in and you’re doing this,” he said. “You’re completely modifying the aircraft and turning it into a fire bomber.”
McCullough said development of these jet tankers were done privately, with hopes that there would eventually be government contracts for their services, but “there were never any guarantees.”
How to fight fires from the air
Specially trained pilots drop water or fire retardant from the air to help assist firefighters on the ground. The heavy, bright-red fire retardant is generally dropped in front of fires, blocking the flames’ path.
“The challenge of dropping water or retardant is when these fires break out, most of the time it’s not in a flat area and not one of these blue-sky, calm-wind days,” said Paul Petersen, executive director of the United Aerial Firefighters Association.
Some of these pilots come from military backgrounds, while others shift over from passenger airlines, 10 Tanker’s Kerley said. Aerial firefighting pilots’ ages span decades. He has nearly 30 on staff.
Eight mechanics are assigned to each of the company’s DC-10s.
“It’s an odd duck in terms of careers,” Kerley said.
There’s also natural forces to contend with: The fierce Santa Ana winds, which were blowing with hurricane force in early January, helped spread the Los Angeles-area fires and also grounded some planes early on from their aerial missions.
The last DC-10 aircraft rolled off the McDonnell Douglas production line in nearby Long Beach, California, nearly four decades ago, but 10 Tanker’s planes have been reoutfitted to carry and precisely drop 9,500 gallons of fire retardant.
Water scoopers like those used by Bridger Aerospace are made by Canada’s De Havilland Aircraft, and are also becoming more highly sought after. These special planes can scoop up 1,600 gallons from nearby bodies of water.
And some governments are beefing up their fleets by ordering the newest model of the plane, which is under development.
Calgary-based De Havilland last August said it won orders for European Union countries for the new generation of the aircraft, the DHC-515, which it expects to enter operations in 2028.
Earlier generations of the Scoopers were first built in the 1970s. De Havilland’s new generation plans to improve things like cockpit air conditioning for high temperatures, water-drop control and anti-corrosion, which helps avoid damage from salt water.
“Given the age of the aircraft and the impact of climate change, demand is just going to increase,” said Neil Sweeney, vice president of corporate affairs at the company. “What was considered an off-season no longer really exists.”
— CNBC’s Erin Black contributed to this report.