Dave Gittins,
12,000 gallons doesn't seem a lot ?
It's U.S. news, so it would be U.S. gallons. That's about 46 metric tons, and spread out properly it can be quite effective.....
WHBM,
The large tankers contracted in recent years have not been amphibians...
I suppose that's because most of the fires occur too far from a large open surface of water.
Here in France, and in Greece as well, most of the fires are within minutes flying from the sea, so the Canadair is still a popular fire tanker around here.
No A-10s
but they've bought a few AgCats. Slow and lumbering biplanes, but they can dump a ton of retardant exactly in the right spot, so they seem to be quite useful for "first attack".