VIDEO: California’s premiere firefighting agency and operator of the world’s largest civil firefighting aerial fleet, CAL FIRE, is nearing the finish line of activating seven C-130H fire tankers.
In 2019, CAL FIRE began the process of acquiring seven C-130s from the United States Coast Guard and the United States Air Force through the National Defense Administration Act. “Basically what it did was title transfer the aircraft directly to CAL FIRE,” CAL FIRE Chief of Aviation Management Martin Buno told FOX40.com. “For contractual-wise and airworthiness-wise it allows us to do the retrofit for the tank installation.”
Currently, CAL FIRE operates around 60 aircraft including Grumman S-2T air tankers, Sikorsky S70i helicopters and North American OV-10A.