When the Highland fire ignited around midday Monday, Oct. 30, in rural Aguanga, the combination of gusty Santa Ana winds and the resulting low humidity in the brush threatened to create a blaze that would be difficult to quickly stop.
In the past, as darkness fell, all of Cal Fire’s water-dropping helicopters for safety reasons would have called it a night.
But not on Monday.
Copter Three-Zero-One as it’s called, is one of the state firefighting agency’s new Sikorsky S70i Firehawks that can fly at night and carry far more water and crew members than the Vietnam War-era Super Hueys that Cal Fire is replacing. Cal Fire received approval from the governor to purchase 12 Sikorskys in 2018 and four more in 2022 for about $24 million each.
A dozen Sikorsky S70i Firehawks have been delivered so far.
Nighttime can be an ideal time to attack the flames as winds often die down and humidity in the brush increases.
Copter 301 dropped 4,200 gallons of water on the Highland fire, helping firefighters gain control of the blaze after it destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged six others.
“By daylight the next day, due to a combination of C301’s efforts and improved weather conditions, the fire had slowed significantly, allowing ground resources to make significant progress in stopping the fire,” Cal Fire said in a social-media message touting the aircraft’s contributions.
By midweek, very little smoke could be seen from the 2,400-plus-acre fire.
Cal Fire chose not to fly the Hueys at night, citing an imbalance in risk vs. reward. But a Sikorsky’s size makes it more stable in high winds, and its two engines provide another reason it’s safer than the single-engine Hueys. It has an advanced mapping and navigation system and can haul 1,000 gallons of water or retardant to the Huey’s approximately 300.
A Sikorsky of this model can carry a pilot, two captains, an operations supervisor and up to nine others. The aircraft carries an ignition system that is used to touch off controlled burns. These Sikorskys also have a hoist for rescue missions.
One of the captains aboard Copter 301 on Monday was Tim Ellena, who is assigned to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department’s Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base.
He said Copter 301 previously flew night missions on the Fairview fire near Hemet in September 2022 and the Rabbit fire in Beaumont this past July.
Ellena said dropping water at night allows firefighters to make up ground that otherwise might not be accomplished until the next day, as long as there are crews below that support the drops by turning hoses on the flames and cutting fire breaks. In the case of the Highland fire, Copter 301 dropped near a mobile-home park where fire engines were working.
“Dropping at night, you’re looking through (night-vision goggles) and you see more embers than you would normally see through the naked eye,” Ellena said.
During this week’s fast-moving #HighlandFire in Riverside County, incident personnel made the decision Monday to continue the firefight from the air overnight. The crew from Copter 301 in CAL FIRE’s Riverside Unit dropped 4,200 gallons of water in an effort to slow the… pic.twitter.com/7yXfraaadT
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) November 1, 2023
