 "Two Canadian 'Super Scoopers' have made flights and dozens of repeated water drops to fight the fire in Palisades. Reuters")
The fires in southern California and Los Angeles continue to wreak havoc.
At least 24 people are dead and thousands of homes have been destroyed.
While things calmed down on Sunday a little, the National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning overnight Monday into Tuesday.
Severe winds are predicted till Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the role of “Super Scooper” planes that have been critical to helping tackle the fires is being spotlighted
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, two Canadian Super Ccoopers made flights and dozens of repeated water drops to fight the fire in Palisades.
But what do we know about these planes? How do they work?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know?
This plane is officially known as the Bombardier CL-415.
As per Indian Express, they are built for the purpose of fighting forest fires.
These amphibious aircraft can scoop up water directly from the surface of bays and lakes.
They do so by skimming the surface of the water at incredibly high speeds.
They can thus fill up their tanks in a few moments, go to the area that needs water and immediately drop it.
According to The Washington Post, Super Scoopers are far more effective than helicopters.
They can pick up 1,600 gallons of water at a time – far more than choppers.
These Super Scoopers have a wingspan of 93 feet and are 65-feet-long.
Their system allows for water to be mixed foam concentrate – which puts out the fires more effectively.
Their tanks can also be filled up via hoses.
The Super Scoopers have a top speed of 350 kilometres per hour.
The pilot can drop the water at one time or use four doors sequentially to disperse the water over a larger area, as per the report.
They can continuously repeat the process until they need to refuel.
According to NDTV, the Los Angeles County Fire Department has borrowed two Super Scoopers from the Quebec government on a 30-year lease.
However, currently just one of these scoopers is working.
This, after one of them slammed into an illegal drone that, according to reports, left a “fist-sized” in the aircraft.
The outlet quoted the Los Angeles Country Fire Chief Anthony Marrone as saying that the pilots were unaware of the collision and landed safely.
“Flying a drone in the fire traffic area is not only dangerous but it’s illegal," Marrone said.
Authorities have vowed to prosecute those who fly UAVs over the wildfires .
The craft may resume its service after repairs.
SOPFEU, the Canadian nonprofit that has provided the Super Scoopers in partnership with Quebec government, has said it would provide two more CL-415s to Los Angeles, as per The Washington Post.
Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. “We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.
The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA had burned more than 12,000 structures. No cause for the largest fires was determined.
Early estimates suggest they could be the nation’s costliest ever, as much as $150 billion according to an AccuWeather estimate.
With inputs from agencies