FOREST SERVICE WILL BEGIN NIGHT TIME AERIAL FIREFIGHTING

“Long overdue”l tactic to contain California’s dangerous wildfires, Senator Feinstein says

August 19, 2012 (Washington D.C.)— The U.S. Forest Service will update its nighttime firefighting program to battle out-of-control wildfires in Southern California.

Previously, the Forest Service restricted aerial firefighting operations to daylight hours only. The announcement was made August 15 by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Buck McKeon (R-Calif.)

 “This is long overdue, but a welcome policy change by the Forest Service,” said Senator Feinstein. “With California’s hot, dry conditions, wildfires are increasingly dangerous and difficult to contain. Attacking fires from the air at night can bolster firefighting efforts because temperatures are cooler, humidity is higher and Santa Ana winds die down. This new policy will allow the Forest Service to use aviation assets around the clock to save lives and property in California.”

In August 2009, the deadly Station Fire burned out of control when the fire escaped containment overnight. The fire ultimately became the largest fire in Los Angeles history, destroying 209 homes and structures, blackening more than 160,000 acres, and tragically taking to the lives of two firefighters.

Congressman Schiff said: “The Forest Service's decision to allow night flights is a welcome announcement. We will never know with certainty if night flying could have extinguished the Station Fire in those critical first hours, but I’m glad we will have a better chance in the future. With temperatures hitting triple digits this summer, it's hard for California residents not to worry that another fire could sweep through and devastate our region once again. This step today by the Forest Service is long overdue, but will provide an important new line of defense against fire for our neighborhoods.”

Congressman McKeon said: “Each year wildfires threaten our homes, businesses, families and livelihoods. It is gravely important that we learn from past fires to make the changes necessary to help our firefighters in the future. We appreciate the efforts to address changes to policy that are needed to save lives. Allowing nighttime flights will help firefighters better do their jobs and fight these dangerous fires. We are pleased to see that the Forest Service has taken the GAO recommendations seriously and have begun to implement these much needed changes.”

In letters sent after the Station Fire, Senator Feinstein and Congressmen Schiff and McKeon urged the Forest Service to update its firefighting tactics to allow for nighttime operations, provided flights could be conducted safely.

The Forest Service is not the only firefighting agency in California to determine that nighttime aerial firefighting is cost-effective and can be done safely.

Fire departments in the cities of San Diego and Los Angeles and the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Orange and Kern already have effective nighttime aerial firefighting programs in place, according to Senator Feinstein’s office. 

The moves came after the deadly 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego, which also started in the evening and spread overnight with no aerial suppression after dark.