Originally Posted by
WillFlyForCheese
That's because, as we're figuring out, aerial firefighting is becoming increasingly ineffective against these "big" fires :
https://www.latimes.com/local/califo...407-story.html
We spend so much money on the aerial effort - and see marginal benefits. The Global Supertanker is quite a sight to see - we've seen it here in California too many times over the past couple of years. But - it's horribly expensive to operate and weather and darkness keeps it grounded when it's arguably most useful (night time when fires tend to calm down).
Those tankers need to maneuver in mountainous terrain - it would be something to see an A380 trying to get low enough for an effective pass . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fox_xomGgFg
Don't know what fires you have worked on but the ones I have been on (over 50 the past 20 years) the aerial attack has been crucial to the success of our dozer lines