Chico Air Attack Base Hosting Firefighting Helicopter for the Summer

Jul. 6—CHICO — Having another firefighting tool, especially in dry, fire-prone California, is critical to keeping humans and their property safe, Cal Fire officials say.

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom helped make good on that principle, recently approving some $72 million in the 2023-24 budget to add 24 aircraft to state fire stations on a contract basis. One of those aircraft — a CH-47 Chinook helicopter — will spend its summer at the Chico Air Attack Base, on the northern edge of the Chico Regional Airport.

" Cal Fire's goal is to keep wildland fires at 10 acres or less, 95% of the time," said Shem Hawkins, Chico Air Attack Base's battalion chief and head of its air tactical group. "Any resource we can get that helps us achieve that goal is paramount."

Hawkins described the helicopter — which has a tank capable of carrying 2,500 gallons of water — as "a punch able to knock down fires and keep them at or below 10 acres."

For practical purposes, the helicopter will carry a maximum of 2,400 gallons when it also has a full tank of fuel, according to Joe Carstensen, the Chico Air Attack Base's helicopter manager.

The helicopter doesn't belong to the state's taxpayers. It's here on contract from Billings Flying Service of Billings, Mont., having arrived May 31 and staying for 90 to 120 days, as needed.

Hawkins explained that the helicopter and its water load aren't designed to stop a wildfire, but rather to slow it to the point that ground crews can reach the fire with time to effective work on it.

"It can fly for a while, and knock (the fire) down in the first few critical minutes," he said. "We want to reduce the fire's intensity so ground firefighters can get a line or hose around it."

Hawkins compared the helicopter's ability to something Cal Fire greatly wished it had available during the 2021 Dixie Fire. That blaze charred approximately 963,000 acres — slightly more than 1,500 square miles — and ended as a the largest single wildfire in the state's history.

Being able to attack a small fire quickly, and slow its growth, is the idea behind adding the helicopter to Cal Fire's roster.

Dylen Long, one of the Chinook's pilots and an employee of Billings Flying Service, pointed to the helicopter's "snorkel" system — by way of a large hose — and explained its rapid filling capability.

"It can fill the tank in about 45 seconds," he said, adding that pilots are able to draw from any water source — a river, a lake, a pond or even a swimming pool, though using a pool wouldn't be practical due to the massive downdraft the propellers would cause. The force would be enough to damage any nearby structures.

The 51-foot-long, 19-foot-tall helicopter can carry a maximum of 50,000 pounds, though it weighs 27,000 pounds with a full tank of water.

Long, who lives in Bremerton, Washington, said he can drop the entire payload instantly from about 400 to 500 feet in the air, or he can open the tank door less, and "stretch out a line" by dropping less water over a greater distance from about 200 feet above treetops. Circumstances would dictate the strategy.

The Chinook is shiny and appears to be new, but if it were a human, it would be approaching retirement age. Boeing built the unit in 1962; Billings Flying Service has renovated the aircraft to the point it looks "showroom new."

Carstensen said the helicopter has an interesting history, having been one of the first 10 Chinooks to land in Vietnam to represent U.S. forces during that 1960s military conflict.

Cal Fire pays a daily rate of $29,070 to host the helicopter, with an additional $9,500 hourly rate when the unit is actually in fire service. This is the second year of the state's contract with Billings Flying Service; Hawkins said whether the state will seek to get the helicopter next year "is up to the state."

The $72 million allowed for the use of 24 aircraft this summer — 19 helicopters and five fixed-wing airplanes. Other aircraft assigned to this region are two for the Redding Air Attack Base — a Cessna Citation 500 Air Tactical airplane and a CH-54B Skycrane helicopter — as well as a UH-60A+ Blackhawk helicopter at the Siskiyou Airport about 10 miles northeast of Yreka.

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