More than 14,000 firefighters from across the United States and even from Australia and New Zealand were working on Wednesday to tackle the massive wildfires that continued to spread across California, having already consumed thousands of hectares over the past month. To tackle the flames of the largest fire in the state’s history, known as the “Mendocino Complex”, the firefighters are being assisted by several helicopters and water-bombing aircraft, including two enormous Douglas DC-10s and even a Boeing 747.
A Boeing 747 converted into a water-bombing aircraft :
Under contract with Cal Fire, the 747 Supertanker has been deployed on several occasions to tackle the “Mendocino Complex” fire. Firefighters therefore have at their disposal this aircraft with “a capacity of 72,672 litres”, as explained by
L'Usine Nouvelle. The 747-400 Global Supertanker is ‘the world’s largest-capacity water-bombing aircraft’, capable of emptying its tank in 6 seconds and refuelling on the ground in 30 minutes. This aircraft has been converted by Global Supertanker Services. It can drop water and fire retardant over forests. It has been deployed on several occasions to tackle the ‘Mendocino Complex’, the most destructive wildfire in California in terms of area burnt in the recent history of this western US state.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=__YwNL_4mRk
Illustrative photo: 47 Supertankers dropping fire retardant during the wildfires in California (United States).
© Global Supertanker Services
