VIDEO/PHOTOS: Highly visible aerial firefighting “scooper” planes have been aiding Utah firefighters on the ground. Commonly referred to as “super scoopers,” Bridger Aerospace’s CL-415EAF fleet has been working numerous wildfires in Utah, including the Monroe Canyon Fire and responding to new wildfire starts.
โWe need about an open mile of water to scoop and they take about 10 to 12 seconds to fill up 14-hundred-gallon tanks,” said Sam Davis, CEO of Bridger Aerospace to 2News. “The beauty of them is depending on the turn time which I think Monroe Canyon Fire weโre about 10 minutes away on our turns, and the lake weโre scooping out of, we can continuously scoop and drop on one full tank of fuel hour cycle and we can drop hundreds of thousands of gallons.โ
Bridger has been in operation since 2014. They have six “super scoopers” along with fixed-wing aircraft used for air attack and fire mapping/imagery. “We’re really happy to be a part of the effort there and glad that Utah’s been very progressive in dispatching assets,” said Davis. “I think there were as many as 25 aviation assets on the fire. I think that coupled with the heroic efforts of the ground crews have really done a lot to prevent the encroachment of the fire.”
