A former search-and-rescue plane for the U.S. Coast Guard will be making its new home away from the sea at Cal Fire’s Air Attack Base in Ramona.
The C-130 air tanker is one of seven that will be joining Cal Fire’s fleet of aircraft used to fight fires. These massive planes are faster and can deliver over three times more fire retardant than the two S-2T’s at the Ramona base, said Cal Fire Captain Brent Pascua.
“They can fly longer, they don’t need to land and refuel as often,” Pascua said. “They’re not replacing our S-2T’s but they’ll take some workload off them.”
A C-130 used to train pilots at the Ramona Air Attack Base in August 2019 was leased to Cal Fire on a contract basis from Coulson Aviation.
Nick Brown, aviation battalion chief at Ramona Air Attack Base, said that getting a C-130 plane in San Diego County is crucial with the region’s fire risk and past major fires like the 2003 Cedar Fire and 2007 Witch Creek Fire.
“To add a C-130, that type of tanker, is huge for us,” Brown said.
Read more on this story at the San Diego Union Tribune
