Quebec sends two more water bombers to Los Angeles to fight fires
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
Since Jan. 7, Los Angeles has experienced more than 30 wildfires, with the largest destroying two major neighbourhoods at opposite ends of the city. Within hours, the Palisades and Altadena neighbourhoods were evacuated and large expanses burned. Fire departments from around North America swiftly responded, including two water bombers from Quebec that were already deployed. Nonetheless, this was insufficient to tackle the escalating fires, prompting a request for two additional planes from Quebec.
On Jan. 15, Quebec dis- patched two CL-415 planes along with a crew of six firefighters – Éric Pelletier, Carl Villeneuve, Julien Flouquet, Pierre Boulanger, Karol Bouchard and François Lapierre. Their journey took two days, spanning 6,100 kilometres with stops in Columbus, Ohio (for customs), St. Louis, Missouri (for rest), Boise, Montana (for a mechanical inspection) and finally, Los Angeles.
Southwestern California’s landscape and climate are susceptible to rampant forest fires, due to prolonged dry spells, strong warm winds from the Pacific Ocean, and the Santa Ana winds from the east. The presence of highly flammable non-indigenous eucalyptus trees exacerbates the situation. Local officials report that these wildfires have become increasingly devastating in recent years.
Given these conditions, CL-415 planes have become essential firefighting assets due to their unique ability to scoop water from nearby large water sources. They can collect 6,400 litres in 12 seconds and perform this operation three times an hour, nine to 12 times before needing to refuel. Over the years, the United States has acquired 10 such planes, stationed in Washington D.C., Montana, San Diego and Los Angeles. Additionally, each year from September to December, Los Angeles County contracts two extra planes from Quebec. Recently, one of these planes was grounded by a civilian drone; once the culprit is identified, they risk fines of up to $75,000 US and 12 months in prison, as man- dated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
As of Jan. 19, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Palisades fires had burned 23,713 acres, destroyed 4,996 structures, and resulted in the deaths of 10 people in the northwest. The Eaton Can- yon fires have burned 14,117 acres, affected 9,366 buildings and claimed 17 lives in the northeast. Both fires are now mostly contained, although ongoing strong winds and the persistent lack of rain pose challenges. Consequently, Los Angeles authorities requested two more planes from Quebec, which obliged, as Canada has a fleet of 64 CL-415 aircraft.
“We assessed the situation and determined we could assist California without jeopardizing our primary mission of fighting forest fires in Quebec,” said Luc Dugas, senior director of strategic and air operations at the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOP- FEU), the Quebec government agency responsible for fighting forest fires. Typically, Quebec takes advantage of the winter months for fleet repairs.
“I’m feeling a bit fatigued, especially mentally,” said Pascal Duclos, chief pilot of the Service Aérien Gouvernemental (SAG; Quebec government air service) has been battling fires in California for days and spoke to Quebec media via videoconference. “We’ve been coming here for 30 years. We anticipate such situations and have relief teams to manage fatigue. However, the workload has been particularly intense in recent weeks.
“What transpired is truly a tragedy,” Duclos remarked. “On my first day, we saw a few homes in flames. By the second day, an entire neighbourhood was reduced to ashes. I had never witnessed anything like it before. Infrastructure and schools were burned. It’s quite devastating.”