OZBUSDRIVER..
The issue WRT the Kinglake and Marysville fires is that no aircraft could have stopped them under the conditions prevailing at the time. Probably, the same could be said of the larger Cali fires.... the only conclusion that can really be reached is that neither state has found the answer to the bad ones - regardless of what size aircraft are used.
The figures that I'd really like to see, and which would be useful in making valid comparisons, are the relative successes in first attack..... getting fires out early, before they develop. I don't have a good timeline for the BlackSat fires, but I attended one on a bad day not long ago. Within the first hour, it had run approximately 10km, and was burning on a front at least 2km wide. The smoke was such that the AT802 in the air at the time could not get in to hit useful targets. Work out for yourself whether a DC10 would have been much use in that situation. maybe when the wind dropped, but when that happened, we got around it with graders.
Could Vic use more resources? Definitely!
However I'm just as concerned that insufficient emphasis is being put on fuel reduction burning and adequate fire trails. You'll know yourself how vital it is to have ground-crews supporting any work done from the air, and no firebreak - whether built by dozer or aircraft - will effectively hold a fire when intensity is such that spotting distances exceed the width of the break.
Yes,,, I agree that we should put more emphasis on getting fires out early. That's where aircraft (IMHO) contribute most, rather than being thrown at a bad fire when everything else has failed.
Regards..... Peter