As out-of-control wildfires threatened thousands of Los Angeles residents earlier this month, air-fighting companies rushed to send their tankers and water bombers to the area. It was supposed to be off season.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) operates more than 60 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, which it calls the largest civilian fleet of its type.
But the federal government, states and U.S. countries, from Australia to Chile and South Korea, employ companies with their own private fleets of specially equipped planes to help fight fires.
“I was fortunate to have two” planes that could help fight the flames, said Joel Kerley, general manager of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company has a fleet of four converted DC-10 aircraft, called very large tankers, or VLATs.
A plane goes down as smoke rises from the Palisades fire in Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 11, 2025.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
U.S. wildfire season typically runs from April to about November, when 10 tankers and similar companies have 24-hour contracts with the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency. In 2023, the U.S. Forest Service extended a 10-year contract worth as much as $7.2 billion to 10 Tankers and four other suppliers.
Outside of these months, providers usually call when needed. These companies claim that demand for their services continues to grow throughout the year.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, forest fires will become even more common and severe in the 21st century. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the data appears to show that the area destroyed by wildfires in the U.S. has increased over the past two decades.
“There aren't enough tankers,” said Kerley, a former aviation manager for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, part of the Department of the Interior.
Flowers and a car are coated with fire retardant as the Palisades Fire, one of the simultaneous fires that have swept through Los Angeles County, burns in Mandeville Canyon in the Los Angeles neighborhood, California, U.S., January 11, 2025.
Ringo Chiu | Reuters
Some countries that have faced serious fires in recent years, such as Australia, are creating their own fleets of firefighting aircraft. Kerley said they will have to expand their fleet or companies like his will have to get bigger to meet growing demand.
Kerley said the Palisades and Eaton fires were among the most difficult to control. Powered by hurricane-force winds, they leveled entire neighborhoods like Altadena and were among the worst in California history. They also reminded firefighters, government officials and the public that fires can break out when least expected.
These two fires consumed more than 37,000 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 homes, buildings and other structures, making them two of the most destructive wildfires ever to occur in California. Cal Fire said at least 28 people died.
Kerley said that at the beginning of the new year, he asked his crew of pilots and mechanics to go to fires, which he equated to the “Super Bowl” of fire response. 10 Tanker planes dropped more than 273,000 gallons of flame retardant in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
By Friday, both fires were largely contained, but companies like Kerley continued to work on call as the Hughes fire spread quickly north of Los Angeles, prompting a new round of evacuations.
A tanker truck dumps flame retardant during the Palisades Fire, one of the simultaneous fires that swept through Los Angeles County, as seen from Woodland Hills in the Los Angeles neighborhood, California, U.S., January 11, 2025.
Ringo Chiu | Reuters
Because the devastating Los Angeles fires occurred during what is considered the region's off-fire season, some of Tanker's 10 planes were stuck in routine maintenance at the start of the battle. And he wasn't alone.
“All of our aircraft are undergoing winter maintenance,” said Sam Davis, general manager of Belgrade, Montana Airlift, which has a fleet of Canadian Super Scoopers that collect water as they fly through the water and drop it near fires. They can make several trips on one flight.
“Getting the first plane out was a big challenge,” Davis said.
In November, Bridger reported record revenues and profits for the third quarter, stating that “continued dry weather in the western United States kept many aircraft operational through November.” It increased its revenue estimate for this year to as much as $95 million from a previous range of $70 million to $86 million.
Growing a fleet of new planes isn't easy or quick.
Kevin McCullough, president of Aero Air, which also provides tankers, sent some of his MD-87s to the Los Angeles fires. He said it could take about a year and a half to convert the jet into a firefighting tanker.
“It's not like you just throw in a tank and do it,” he said. “You completely modify the plane and turn it into a fire bomber.”
McCullough said work on these jet tankers was being done privately and he hoped there would eventually be government contracts for their services, but “there were never any guarantees.”
How to extinguish fires from the air
Specially trained pilots drop water or flame retardant from the air to help firefighters on the ground. A heavy, bright red flame retardant is usually dropped in front of the fire, blocking the path of the flames.
“The challenge with dropping water or retardant is that fires, in most cases, do not start on flat ground or on days with blue skies and calm winds,” said Paul Petersen, executive director of the United Aerial Firefighters Association.
Some of these pilots come from a military background, others came from passenger airlines, 10 Tanker's Kerley said. The age of aerial firefighter pilots spans decades. It has almost 30 employees.
Eight mechanics are assigned to each of the company's DC-10s.
“He's an odd duck career-wise,” Kerley said.
A Super Scooper plane drops water on the Palisades Fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California.
Brian Van Der Brug | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
There are also the forces of nature to contend with: Santa Ana's fierce winds, which blew with hurricane force in early January, helped spread wildfires around Los Angeles and grounded some planes at the beginning of air missions.
The last DC-10 aircraft rolled off the McDonnell Douglas production line in nearby Long Beach, California, nearly four decades ago, but 10 Tanker aircraft have been retooled to carry and precisely drop 9,500 gallons of flame retardant.
A water-dropping firefighting superplane fills with water from the Pacific Ocean at Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles, California, U.S., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Jill Connelly | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Water buckets, such as those used by Bridger Aerospace, are manufactured by the Canadian company De Havilland Aircraft and are also becoming increasingly popular. These special planes can collect 1,600 gallons from nearby bodies of water.
Some governments are strengthening their fleets by ordering the latest aircraft model under development.
Calgary-based de Havilland announced last August that it had won orders from European Union countries for the next-generation DHC-515 aircraft, which is scheduled to enter service in 2028.
Earlier generations of Scoopers were built in the 1970s. The next generation of de Havilland plans to improve features such as cockpit air conditioning for high temperatures, water drop control and anti-corrosion protection that helps avoid damage from salt water.
“Given the age of the aircraft and the impact of climate change, demand will simply increase,” said Neil Sweeney, vice president of corporate affairs at the company. “What was considered an off-season actually no longer exists.”
— CNBC's Erin Black contributed to this report.