The deadly January wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles lit up night skies for weeks on end. Flames rippled and heaved like ocean waves; they leaped upward, like solar flares.
By month’s end, at least 28 people had lost their lives. Thousands of structures in the city’s affluent Pacific Palisades and Malibu neighborhoods were destroyed, plus thousands more buildings in the communities of Altadena and Pasadena.
On the ground, the scene was apocalyptic. From the air, it was a turbulent inferno in every sense of the word.
“It was absolutely violent,” said Wayne Coulson, CEO of Coulson Aviation from British Columbia, whose company continuously flew three Boeing CH-47 helitankers to help quell the fires, with one Sikorsky S-61 provided as backup.
“We were able to fly when some aircraft weren’t, because of our size and the support that is required,” he said. “It was absolute chaos. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The firefight was unquestionably a coordinated effort, with an ongoing aerial assault supporting workers on the ground; but the helicopter community’s role was pronounced — particularly at night.
Dozens of rotorcraft from across the United States helped contain the Palisades Fire, which began at around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 7, and the Eaton Fire, which engulfed homes and businesses in Dena (the combined communities of Alatadena and Pasadena) a few hours later.
“This was an air force versus fire,” said Coulson, who said the company’s night-vision-equipped Chinooks can match the drop lines of a C-130 Hercules fixed-wing tanker.
The Chinooks can drop water and fire retardant at 65 knots (75 miles per hour), then replenish their 3,000-gallon (11,350-liter) tanks in a hover-fill within 90 seconds of finding a water source. That quickness and efficiency, along with the unique precision and versatility helicopters provide, visibly augmented the capabilities of the fixed-wing firefighting fleet.
Their ability to fly at night, when temperatures drop and humidity rises, provided another key advantage. With fewer aircraft in the skies after dark, night-vision-equipped helicopters from multiple civilian operators helped turn the tide, impeding the fires’ ability to rekindle and spread while the city slept.
“That’s why we believe firefighting at night is solidified now,” said Wayne Coulson, whose company has operated such missions since 2011. “Without that … the devastation would have been (doubled), times-two.”
HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS
The Santa Ana winds were brutal and unforgiving.
At L.A. County Fire Department (LACFD), senior pilot Mike Sagely and his crews had been preparing for an event like this; still, the reality was disheartening. With the Palisades Fire spreading to Malibu, turning multi-million-dollar oceanside homes to cinders, Sagely flew toward Eaton Canyon in a Sikorsky S-70 Firehawk.
“As I turned directly toward the fire, I could already see the glow on the horizon, and we knew that it was going to be bad,” he said in an interview with Vertical’s Billy Hardiman.
“When we got over the fire, our first view of it, we just knew. It had progressed, already, from its start point, right down into the drainage, which was within 75 yards of the first line of homes.”
“We were going to have, at best, difficulty — and at worst, inability to do anything…. We knew that we were in life-saving mode, not firefighting mode, at that point,” he added.
“The conditions were extreme, to say the least.”
In the early stages of the fire, Sagely reported downdrafts in excess of 1,000 feet (300 meters) per minute; other operators reported Hurricane-force winds, up to 80 mph (130 km/h). In those conditions, helicopters simply cannot fly. A water drop is impossible. Sagely and his crew decided to turn back.
“Once we felt like we had done what we could, we decided to terminate at that point and unfortunately we had to go away,” he said. “I think pretty much all air operations ceased that first night because of the conditions.”
“This is the only time in my career so far that we’ve actually shut down operations,” he added. “Something that needs to be understood is that the level of risk goes so high, but what you’re actually accomplishing is almost non-existent. That’s when you’ve got to make that tough call about whether you continue.”
Several times, the winds also pushed back civilian operators and grounded their aircraft.
“When the winds are high and you can’t fly, you aren’t being productive, aren’t helping the situation,” said Brian Beattie, director of operations at Oregon-based Croman Corporation, which operated a Croman SH-3H helicopter assigned to the Eaton Fire.
It’s frustrating, he acknowledged, “but it’s a matter of professionalism, to operate the aircraft in a safe manner. When you can’t operate, you can’t operate. We’re all professionals, and we do what we’re supposed to do, when we’re supposed to do it.”
The Croman SH-3H is a modified former U.S. Navy SH-3, fitted with the company’s own internal Croman Fire Tank System.
One of five such aircraft in the Croman fleet, it was based with a two-person flight crew in the city of Lancaster, near Altadena, starting Jan. 8.
The company also dispatched a Sikorsky S-61A with an external tank to Redlands, just outside San Bernardino, and it was available for initial attack — though not assigned to a specific fire.
“You have to be very cautious in the higher-wind conditions, but they’re not significantly different than the winds we routinely see over fires,” said Beattie.
“Aerial response in Southern California has been a very professionally executed response with multiple agencies and multiple responsibilities,” he added.
“[It] has been a very safe operation, because everyone is operating professionally. When we get to our limits, we stop. That keeps everybody in a safe place.”
LATE-SEASON SURGE
In California, nearly everyone accepts wildfires as a fact of life.
But this much damage to Los Angeles, and such intensity this late in the season, is unprecedented. The only comparable incident in recent memory is the Camp Fire in 2018, which killed 85 people and burned all but five percent of the town of Paradise, about 87 miles north of Sacramento.
“It definitely hits home,” said Colin Russel, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook pilot from Montana-based Billings Flying Service.
“We’re here for a reason; we’re here to work and try to help out as much as we can. It definitely hurts to see that we couldn’t get here sooner, but it’s kind of the nature of the beast,” he said.
“We’re here to try to suppress things and get them under control. Hopefully we can put this one to rest.”
A typical flying day began around sunrise for Billings, with pre-flight checks, mission briefings and other preparations. The company’s Chinooks are fitted with 2,500-gallon (9,460-liter) internal tanks developed in collaboration with Kawak Aviation from Bend, Oregon, that can refill in 45 seconds.
“It’s a pretty amazing tank,” said Dillon Dennis, another Billings Chinook pilot. “One of the most impressive pieces of it is the fill rate … it really limits our exposure down in the dip.”
There is never any guarantee of an effective drop, and timing it correctly requires meticulous precision.
“[There are a lot of] variables, and it’s hard to put them all together on the fly, but when you get a direct hit, everybody’s happy,” said Russell.
“The guys on the ground, they’ll tell you you got a bullseye, or whatever it may be. And it’s always going to feel satisfying to know you’re being effective out there on the line.”
MAINTENANCE
Along with the emotional toll of fighting urban fires, operational fatigue is an ongoing concern for smaller operators. They normally schedule heavy aircraft maintenance for winter, to prepare for the typically-busier summer firefighting season.
The L.A. firestorm threw a wrench in those plans. Pilots who would otherwise enjoy downtime and vacation this time of year are thrust back into the task of intense flying.
“We’re able to get fresh crews in there when we need them,” said Scotty Runyan, vice president of government services at Atlanta-based Helicopter Express. “We’re just trying to mitigate the operational fatigue as much as we can.”
The company has contributed two fire suppression aircraft to the Eaton Fire, a Sikorsky S-64F Skycrane and a night-vision-equipped Bell 205. A Bell 407, one of the U.S. Forest Service’s new aerial supervision aircraft, has split duty between Palisades and Eaton.
This disrupted maintenance schedule meant the company had to shut down its 407 for a 600-hour engine inspection in late January, when the L.A. fires were still burning. Runyan noted his crews have worked with the forest service to minimize downtime.
Still, this compresses the maintenance timeline for summer preparations.
“This is the longest extended fire season we’ve ever had on these three aircraft,” said Runyan. “It creates a little bit of a challenge.
“It’s just being able to be adaptable and be nimble, and just working around the problem … we like to think we’re an adaptable company, and we can work around problems like this. That shouldn’t affect the next fire season at all.”
CLOSE TO HOME
In some cases, fighting the L.A. fires is merely another job, approached with professional detachment. For California-based PJ Helicopters, it’s more personal.
The family-run company is based in Red Bluff, a small city at the northern edge of the Sacramento Valley. Its crews live within driving distance of Los Angeles, and there’s an acute understanding their efforts are meant to save lives as well as property.
“It definitely adds some more mental dynamics to it,” said Justin Gunsauls, a company vice president and director of maintenance.
“We’ve been doing this for nearly 60 years now. It’s very unfortunate and unprecedented circumstances, but we feel very privileged to be able to help our fellow Californians in any way we can.”
“Aerial firefighting is a tight knit community, and it’s been great to see people from all over the country come to these folks’ aid,” he added. “We’re happy to be a part of it.”
PJ Helicopters dispatched a night-vision-equipped CH-47D Chinook, on contract with CalFire, as well as two tanked Sikorsky UH-60A Utility Hawks in collaboration with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
A Bell 429 aircraft from PJ has also served as a helico aircraft, assigned to the Eaton Fire and based out of Bracket Field Airport, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Pasadena.
“The water sources are a bit different,” said Gunsauls. One of the company’s UH-60s refilled its water tank by dipping into ponds at Pepperdine University, he said. In some cases, they drew water from swimming pools.
Again, this is a task only helicopters could manage — and their efforts are being felt throughout the local community.
“In times of disaster, the human spirit shines through,” said Gunsauls. “You see people pulling together and doing what they need to do to get things done, and it’s inspiring. Our guys are lined up ready to go and ready to help however they can.
“It’s been really neat to be a part of and see. It gives you a good faith in humanity when everybody steps up to the challenge.”
LOOKING AHEAD
At the time of writing, in late January, the Palisades and Eaton fires were largely contained. So was the Hughes Fire near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic, which flared up Jan. 22 and quickly spread over 10,000 acres.
Still, the numbers were staggering. Together, the three fires consumed nearly 48,000 acres. Palisades and Eaton destroyed more than 16,000 structures and damaged at least 1,963, according to CalFire.
The fires caused an estimated $250 billion in damages and economic loss, according to AccuWeather. City facilities suffered at least $350 million in damages, per the L.A. Times. It will take years to rebuild, and wildfires will inevitably return to California.
Helicopter operators will remain integral to firefighting efforts for the foreseeable future.
All of this is sobering for the men and women who willingly fly toward the danger. It’s also a sign of the strength of the aerial firefighting community.
“Everybody pulled together,” said Wayne Coulson. “It was an impressive air force that came together under the most extreme conditions. Everybody performed at the highest level. It was an impressive show of airmanship.”
With files from Billy Hardiman.