DW.
In Canada in Alberta, NWT, Saskatchewan and British Columbia they use a combination approach of large and small longterm tankers, scoopers, helicopters and ground crews to fight fires. They have the tools available to pick what piece of equipment is most suited. I believe that without having both scoopers and larger tankers we are limiting ourselves needlessly.
No argument on the requirement for a mix of tools to do a variety of jobs. I'm a believer. The issue that we face at the moment is $$, or rather,, the lack of them.
We have an "interesting" funding system in NSW.
The contract aircraft - the ones that we pay to sit ready all season - are paid for out of the Service's budget, up to a point. This is the same budget with which we train and equip firefighters on the ground, build infrastructure, and keep the shop running. From memory, that budget has increased more than 3-fold over the last 15 years, and yet there are still major deficiencies. Aviation has to work hard to justify any extra expenditure.
Declared Emergencies are funded directly by the State Government, which pays for running costs, repairs, consumables and hire of extras through its emergency fund. This is used for hiring the call-when-needed fleet, but can't be accessed to buy or hire aircraft for use outside the specified area of the Declaration.
Gotta go, I have a contractor coming,,,, but please keep in mind the other demands on the Government's wallet. Firefighting is only a vote-winner for a short period after a big season. After that, the voters tend to lose interest and politicians lose incentive to fund us properly. My brigade has no shed, and half the trucks that we should....
Peter