Things are just getting hotter in Texas, and Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a wildfire disaster with ongoing triple-digit temperatures in the forecast for the Brazos Valley — and the Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS) has stationed more airtankers in College Station.
Wes Moorehead, associate director and fire chief for the TAMFS, said the department uses numerous different aircraft to fight fire, but in College Station, they now have two new super scoopers.
“They are made to scoop off of open water lakes and then deposit that water onto an active fire scene,” Moorehead said. “Other aircraft, they will be loaded at the airport with retardant or water and then fly to the fire location and drop it. They’ll have to return to the airport and get reloaded.” In a report by KXXV, Moorhead said, “These in particular hold 1,400 gallons, which is a sizeable amount of water. Typically, a firetruck will hold around 500 gallons, so three times the amount of water a local fire truck can deliver.”
CBS Austin reported last week that TAMFS has brought in dozens of aircraft to work on nearly 3,000 fires across the state since the beginning of this year.
The Super Scooper is a specialized water-dropping airtnker, according to pilot Elic Kirby. “It’s just a giant, yellow beast,” he said. “It’s made to fight fire. It’s all it’s made to do, it’s all it does.” Kirby’s been flying scoopers for a couple years now, and says they’ve been flying Texas fires every day lately. His airtanker is one of about 30 aircraft brought on by TAMFS a couple weeks ago to fight fires — thousands of fires since the first of the year.
“Since January 1, we’ve actually seen 3,000 wildfires burn in the state of Texas,” said Moorehead. “These triple-digit temperatures are actually driving the moisture out of fields and driving the wildfire scene that we have in Texas right now.” He said airtankers are most helpful when aiding the crews who fight wildfires on the ground.
As Fire Aviation reported back in January, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) of Jack Creek Investment Corp. collaborated with the long-time aerial firefighting delivery company, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC (BAER/BAERW), moving onto Wall Street via the Nasdaq Global Market. Shares began trading on January 25 and dropped by a third on day three, with the company’s market capitalization at a robust $760.64 million.