According to Cal Fire, California has the premier air attack fleet in the entire world with respect to a civilian aerial firefighting fleet, with more than 60 aircraft. This serves specialized purposes, such as the “Super Scooper CL-415 aircraft, which can scoop water directly from the Pacific Ocean. These helped to slow the Palisades Fire while ground crews worked hard to contain it.
The CL-415 costs about $25 million and is able to carry a little bit over 14,000 pounds of water on every flight, as informed by WinAir, an aviation management software company. These planes, however, are surprisingly limited. The damage caused by an unauthorized drone has just grounded one of those planes.
Santa Ana winds create similar problems that hinder aerial firefighting. The turbulence created by the fire and winds over 30 mph is downright dangerous for flying. In fact, according to Cal Fire, at such a time, water and fire retardants merely create a mist and would not settle effectively on the flames.
Saltwater accessibility
According to Cal Fire, California stands proud in having the largest civilian firefighting aviation fleet of all time, with over 60 aircraft. The fleet includes specialty planes like the “Super Scooper” CL-415 aircraft that scoop water directly from the Pacific Ocean. Among such planes, some helped fight the Palisades Fire, slowing it down as whole ground crews worked tirelessly to contain it.
According to aviation management software company WinAir, the aircraft costs around $25 million each. The CL-415 can hold about 14,000 pounds of water on each trip. Such aircraft notwithstanding, they face some limitations. For instance, recently, damage caused by an unauthorized drone rendered one of the water bombers unusable.
Strong Santa Ana winds also hamper aerial firefighting operations. The turbulence created by the fire, along with winds of more than 30 mph, makes it as dangerous as flying. Water drops also decline in effectiveness. Cal Fire explains that water and fire retardants often whirl into a mist rather than landing effectively on the flames in such circumstances.
The corrosive nature of saltwater
Water is not defective by itself, but it is important to think twice about the quality of the water before you use it because it has high salinity, which means that at least some of its sources become unfit for firefighting equipment. Fire retardants are generally loaded into aircraft and not water. Most of those who have aircraft that can still use salt water will find that excessive application will corrode some important parts of the aircraft, thus compromising its worth and effectiveness.
This would also go for the aircraft since fire hydrants, hoses, and so forth are made of metal, which corrodes very easily under the influence of salt water. Therefore, salt is an electrolyte that speeds up the rusting process because it will cause the iron to lose electrons faster. This does not make it a cost-effective option for continuous operations for firefighting.
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Environmental and long-term effects
Another reason ocean water is not a viable option is that it poses an environmental compromise in itself. Its effect on trees and soils is still something completely in the realm of the unknown. Experts, however, have raised concerns through speculation about long-term damage.
Patrick Megonigal, an ecosystem ecologist with the, has studied how saltwater affects coastal forests. He elaborately discusses it in an article he wrote for The Conversation. Megonigal describes that salt tends to stay in the soil, especially in arid regions like those in Southern California, and this accumulated salinity can be harmful to trees and other plants.
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“Our lab experiments suggest that salt was causing clay and other particles to disperse and move about in the soil,” Megonigal writes: “Soil chemistry and structural changes of this sort may be persistent for many more years.” These changes could severely affect ecosystems already afflicted with prolonged drought and climate change.
Does Los Angeles have enough fresh water for fires?
Making it evident that ocean water will not make a cut, this is the prime issue: availing critical fresh water. This is something Rep. Judy Chu from the Los Angeles wildfires’ hit area talked about on Face the Nation. She assured that fire agencies have been sufficiently supplied with water to douse the flames, dismissing early concerns about their being unable to access water pressure or hydrants.
“When the fires first struck, they were stoked with high winds,” Chu said. “Fire departments were really in trouble, what with the simultaneous operation of so many hydrants and losing power on pumps to avoid fire due to electric sparks or other accidents, and people are then saying it is a very uncommon case. “But I think we’re in a good place right now.”
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Final thoughts
While its use is theoretically possible, the feasibility issues involved in such a solution-from mechanics to logistics and environment—make it unsuitable to use ocean salt water to fight wildfires in California. It, therefore, continues to hone existing provisions and strategies for the protection of people against these intensifying wildfires.
