United States Marine Corps and Navy Helicopter Crews Assist CAL Fire With Wildfire Suppression

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After the devastating wildfires of 2007 in San Diego, California, a historic agreement was put into place allowing the United States Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy to assist CAL Fire with wildfire suppression in the wildland areas of San Diego County.  Since then the USMC and U.S. Navy helicopter pilots have trained with CAL Fire, making water drops in the wildland areas of Camp Pendleton.

United States Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Helicopters

Normally used for carrying troops, supplies, and vehicles, the military helicopters are also able to carry large capacity sling loads of water, also known as "Bambi baskets".  The Marine Corps uses the CH-53E Sea Stallion, which is the largest military helicopter used for this mission and is often used to carry Humvees.  They also use the CH-46 Sea Knight, which is extremely reliable and nimble, despite its age, having been in the USMC fleet since 1964.  The United States Navy uses the CH-60 Sea Hawk, another large-capacity helicopter with similar capabilities to the CH-46.

According to Captain Daryll Pina of Cal Fire San Diego, the military helicopters cannot be used for water drops within city limits because of the weight of the "Bambi baskets".  If the crew were to experience problems and needed to jettison the basket it would cause significant damage and fatal injury if it were to land in a populated area.

Protocol for Using Military Aerial Firefighting Resources

The military is only called on by CAL Fire to fight wildfires in situations where CAL Fire is unable to handle all of the aerial fire suppression on their own.  Colonel Jon Pioli of the United States Marine Corps 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing explains that the USMC and Navy are the last line of defense, saying, "It's not meaning that we don't want to be used.  It is just not our job.  By all of the doctrine and laws we should be the last ones in and the first ones out.  So CAL Fire knows this.  CAL Fire is extremely professional.  They can handle 99.9% of the situations, but if it gets so bad that they cannot, we will come in and help them without any resistance."

During a recent training exercise between CAL Fire and the USMC, a small wildfire broke out on Camp Pendleton, and the USMC was not used to put it out due to the fact that CAL Fire was able to extinguish it with their own resources.  Colonel Pioli say, "That's a perfect example.  There's no reason for us to just jump on another fire because you get confusion.  You want the incident commander to be in charge.  When he decides he needs more help, then we give him more help."

CAL Fire is able to call upon the military for immediate assistance within the first 72 hours of a wildfire.  After that the State of California needs to get Presidential permission to use the military's aerial resources.  The military is able to provide CAL FIre with up to four helicopters at one time.

Aerial Firefighting Training

Before each wildfire season begins, the USMC and U.S. Navy train with CAL FIre to enhance their communication and to train the military crews on how to use their helicopters for aerial firefighting.

Colonel Pioli says, "This training allows us to be efficient with Cal Fire.  They use different terminology than us so we have to make sure that we can talk their language.  And they are in charge.  We support them."

The military spotters that ride with each helicopter crew to monitor the sling loads use this training to hone their skills as well.  CAL Fire's Captain Pina explains that Cal Fire's water-dropping helicopters have fixed mirrors mounted below them so that the pilot and Crew Chief Captain can tell if the sling is working properly.  However, the military helicopters do not have these mirrors, and so they require a trained observer to ride along with the crew for this purpose.

The partnership of CAL Fire and the United States Armed Forces for wildfire protection is much appreciated by residents and property owners in San Diego County, which has undergone several devastating wildfires in recent years.

Related Video

To watch a video showing CAL Fire's bulldozer crews as they train at the United States Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, click here.