BOISE FOOTHILLS, Idaho — Just two months ago, the Boise Foothills were up in flames as the Valley Fire burned a final total of 9,904 acres. Aerial firefighting resources like planes and helicopters played a crucial role in fighting the fast-moving fire.
- A total of eight retardant tankers, two water scooper planes and four helicopters were deployed on day one of the Valley Fire.
- The fleet collectively racked up around 68 hours of flight time on the first day fighting the flames — at a cost of roughly $1.5 million.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“We had a number of fires going on down in Southern Idaho and so our resources were tapped. We were strapped for engines and crews," says Josh Harvey, the Fire Bureau Chief for the Idaho Department of Lands.
He tells me that the Boise Foothills are full of quick-burning fuels like grass and brush that allowed the Valley Fire to grow quickly.
“Those type of fires are extremely dangerous to the public safety. It's hard to get in front of them, it's hard to get ahead of them," says Harvey.
That’s where aerial firefighting resources like air tankers, water scoopers, and helicopters come into play — helping slow the growth of the fire.
“Every piece of aircraft that we put in the air has a very specific role, very specific mission. They’re absolutely critical to protecting life and public safety and private property," says Harvey.
He tells me that they had eight retardant tankers, two water scooper planes, and four helicopters working to put fire retardant and water where ground crews needed it.
“Air resources — our air tankers, and our helicopters they can’t put a fire completely out right. You’ve got to have boots on the ground, you’ve got to have engines to mop the fire up or it’ll come back to life and take off," says Harvey.
Helicopters are used as precision aircraft dropping water on specific hot spots whereas air tankers are used to lay down large lines of fire retardant to take the momentum out of the fire.
“A big large air tanker can spread that stuff out for over half a mile... A key point, retardant is not gonna put out a fire. But it’s definitely going to slow the progress of the fire, it's going to provide an insulation on the fuels" says Harvey.
Air tankers dropping Retardant may not put out fires, but Scooper planes skimming water off the nearby Lucky Peak Reservoir filled that role instead.
“Our water scoopers put down 207,000 gallons of water in a very short period of time and that water actually, in the fuel type, will put out grass fire. And so it provides an almost immediate stop" says Harvey.
All of those air resources working together cost roughly $1.5 million to operate on day one of the Valley Fire, collectively racking up about 68 hours of flight time.
