Firefighters in California have another resource to call on to combat wildfires. Ed Joyce reports from Sacramento.
The U.S. Forest Service in Lake Tahoe says the agency’s Bombardier 415 aircraft, nicknamed the “Super Scooper,” will be based out of the South Lake Tahoe Airport this summer.
Forest Service Fire Management Officer Kit Bailey says the aircraft increases the agency’s ability to respond to wildfires.
Bailey: "Given the conditions that we're facing here in the west with four years of drought and having this high-capable aircraft here is a big plus, not just for the Lake Tahoe Basin area but all the surrounding areas and forests."
Bailey says the planes typically drop water during the initial attack on a fire.
He says the "super scooper" will likely be re-located to Southern California in the fall, when Santa Ana winds increase the risk of wildfires.