Eyes From The Skies

CalFire pilots from Paso Robles Airport describe the intense work resulting from California’s worst fire seasons

The call is made, the dispatch radio reads out, “Tanker 74, Tanker 75, Air Attack 340.” Pilot David Skopec suits up and hops into his aircraft. The roar of his turboprops begins, as he starts his engines and performs the checklists. He rolls out of the pit, along with the crew of Tanker 75 and Air Attack 340, and heads out onto to the runway. Slowly advancing the throttle, the plane starts moving, and in a matter of seconds, is off the ground and on the way. Facing one of the worst fire seasons that California has ever had, Skopec’s role is one of the most important in the firefighting industry. With a plane filled with 1,200 gallons of fire retardant and a crew of highly skilled firefighters to help him, Skopec is able to maneuver his aircraft in the most dangerous situations to help prevent large scale fires, and help keep them contained.

Humans are the number one cause of wildfires, making up over 85 percent of all wildfires reported in California. Unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, equipment misuse, and intentional acts of arson are all the main causes of wildfires, according to the US Forest Service. Over the course of the 2020 fire season, there were 8,112 fires that burned over 4,350,000 acres. In 2021, there have been 8,106 fires which burned more than 2,500,000 acres. Across all fire seasons from 2016 to 2019, there were 32,032 fires that burned just 4,452,872 acres. The 2020 and 2021 fire seasons have nearly a 150 percent increase in acres burned than the previous 4 years combined, according to CalFire.

CalFire has 14 air attack bases all throughout the state, in cities such as Hemet, Redding, Porterville, Ramona, and Paso Robles. These bases are all equipped with three or more aircraft, including fixed and rotary wings. All bases are made up of a pair of S-2T Turbo Trackers, modern upgraded versions of the Vietnam-era S-2F Trackers. The Turbo Trackers are able to carry up to 1,200 gallons of fire retardant and are able to cruise to fires at speeds of over 230 knots. Each base also includes one air attack aircraft,

by Conner Rocha, Photography Director

which is an OV-10A Bronco, capable of carrying one pilot and one ATGS (Air Tactical Group Supervisor), and is able to fly over fires for over four hours, communicating vital information to and from the ground crews to all tankers on the site of the fire. Alongside the fixed wing aircraft, some CalFire bases, including

Sacramento, Hemet, and Columbia, are operating brand new S-70i Firehawk helicopters, which can carry up to 1,000 gallons of water, and are able to be refilled in 45 seconds while the aircraft is in air, using a “snorkel” which dips into water sources.

Paso Robles is home to a vital CalFire air attack base. According to CalFire, “The base provides initial attack for southern Monterey County, western Fresno and Kings counties, northern Santa Barbara County and all of San Luis Obispo County: an initial attack area of approximately

6.5 million acres.” Tanker 74 is one of two Turbo Trackers based out of Paso, along with Tanker 75. They also have a OV-10A Bronco, Air Attack 340 (AA340), as well at the base which provides air attack during fire operations.

“The beauty of these aircraft is you can get there quickly and help support ground troops,” Skopec said. “Some of these slopes are so steep, they have a hard time hiking up. If we could slow down the fire in front of them, it gives them extra time to get the hose laid, or get the hand crews up there and cut in line and remove the fuel from the fire.” made to fade in color to the point where it is not visible anymore after a few weeks.

“Our response time for initial attack is rarely more than a ten minute flight,” Skopec said. “Ten minutes will get you pretty far when you’re doing 230 knots. Around 70 percent of the time we’re there in less than ten minutes for fires in SLO special rating called initial attack,” Skopec said. “As pilots, we were trained to be able to take action on a fire without permission from anyone. If I’m flying back from a fire by myself, and I see another fire, I am trained to go ahead, size it up, and take action.”

Initial attack is rare, and most of the time fires are assisted with air attack specialists, flying in OV-10A Broncos, or other contracted aircraft such as Rockwell Turbo Commanders or Beechcraft King Air’s. These aircraft include a single pilot and an Air Tactical Group Supervisor (ATGS). The ATGS is the person who helps coordinate with ground crews, along with using it’s six radios to communicate with aircraft in the air, to help coordinate attack plans to keep the fire at bay.

“Usually the typical model is an air attack, two tankers, and a helicopter on every wildland dispatch,” Skopec said. “The air attacks have a crucial role as far as communicating with the ground, and keeping the aircraft separate from each other. That’s their number one job, to keep the aircraft from running into each

CalFire is also one of the most rewarding jobs for pilots, according to Skopec. While pilots may not get as much flying time as a typical commercial pilot, the job is a lot more demanding. A majority of CalFire pilots are also personal aircraft owners, who have their own small aircraft used for personal flying. Currently there is a shortage of almost 35,000 pilots, and plenty of different types of opportunities for those who wish to enter the field of flying.

“The nice thing about flying is pilots don’t really fly because it’s a good job, they do it because they truly love it,” Skopec said. “If it’s truly what you love, you will never think twice about it.”

2016-2019

Wildfire

Seasons

Number of Fires: 32,032

Acres Burned: 4,452,872

Structures Lost: 36,512

2020-2021

Wildfire Seasons

Number of Fires: 16,418

Acres Burned: 6,753,749

Structures Lost: 14,117

Sources: CalFire & U.S. Forest Service