Southern California Edison Funds ‘Critical Aerial Support’ for Daytime and Nighttime Firefighting
October 06 2020 - 4:24PM
Business Wire
Partnership with the Orange County Fire Authority and Coulson
Aviation brings the world’s largest fire helicopter to SCE’s
service area.
Captain Greg Barta of the Orange County Fire Authority has been
on the front lines of firefighting for 13 years. He has one word to
describe the 2020 fire season to date: “Explosive.”
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
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Southern California Edison is
contributing about $2.2 million toward the OCFA’s lease of the
CH-47 Chinook helitanker during what’s expected to be an active
fire season through year-end 2020. Photo credit: Elisa Ferrari
“It’s definitely been demanding. There’s been quite a few fires
simultaneously up and down the state … and we haven’t even had
Santa Ana winds yet,” he said. “None of us are used to fighting
fires during a pandemic, which is putting a strain on our
resources, but we’re rising to the occasion. I speak for all
firefighters when I say, this is the job we signed up to do.”
To help firefighters like Barta during an active fire season
through year-end, Southern California Edison is contributing about
$2.2 million toward the OCFA’s lease of a Coulson-Unical CH-47
helitanker, beginning Oct. 1 through late December.
The CH-47 Chinook helitanker is the world’s largest and most
capable heavy-lift fire helicopter, able to drop 3,000 gallons of
water or retardant in a single pass. The twin-engine, tandem rotor
helicopter is being leased from and is operated by Coulson
Aviation.
It will be based at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los
Alamitos and be available around-the-clock. The helitanker will
strengthen daytime and nighttime fire suppression within SCE’s
50,000-square-mile service area — and beyond, if needed.
“There is no higher priority for us than the safety of our
customers, the communities we serve, our employees and contractors,
and the firefighters and first responders who protect them,” said
Kevin M. Payne, SCE president and CEO.
“The intensity of the 2020 wildfires so far, plus the impacts of
the COVID-19 crisis, have put pressure on the state’s firefighting
resources. With that in mind, it is a privilege for SCE to support
the readiness of fire agencies such as the OCFA, which are on the
front lines of protecting lives, property and critical
infrastructure.”
SCE’s funding of the helitanker lease is part of its Wildfire
Mitigation Plan, which also includes enhanced inspections of
infrastructure, hundreds of miles of insulated power lines,
vegetation management of thousands of trees and plants to maintain
a minimum 12-foot clearance from power lines, as well as hundreds
of fire-resistant poles, weather stations and high-definition
cameras in high fire risk areas.
“The CH-47 Chinook helitanker is a force multiplier,” said Chief
Brian Fennessy of OCFA. “We are extremely grateful to Southern
California Edison for once again providing critical aerial support
during the height of fire season.” In 2019, SCE provided OCFA with
funding for a 1,000 gallon capacity helitanker that assisted with
about 20 wildfires, most of them significant incidents.
For Captain Barta and his firefighters combating a
record-breaking year for fires in California, “If we get in a
situation where a fire’s behavior changes and suddenly our teams
are in harm’s way, having that helitanker up there to aid our
firefighters is key. Being on the fire line and seeing that
helitanker drop 3,000 gallons a minute, we know we are getting a
difference-maker.”
See SCE's published web feature here:
https://energized.edison.com/stories/sce-funds-critical-aerial-support-for-daytime-nighttime-firefighting
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201006006073/en/
Ron Gales, (626) 302-7927
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