County takes SuperScoopers, helitankers for fire season

by Timothy Rutt

SuperScooper in action.

Two Super Scooper firefighting aircraft and an Erickson Aircrane helitanker copter arrived in LA County on lease from Quebec, Canada, according to Supv. Michael D. Antonovich's office.

 

Ready for fire season, the SuperScoopers can scoop up to 1,620 gallons of water from a lake in only 12 seconds, according to a press release from the supervisor's office.  They can also by airborne in as little as five minutes and fly three hours before refueling, according to the release.  This is the 19th year of the county contracting with the SuperScoopers.

The Erickson Aircrane Type I Helitanker is capable of delivering 2,500 gallons per drop. This is the eighth year the county has contracted for the helitankers.