Firefighters acquire new technology to push back wildfires in US
Summary
As droughts and the increasing effects of climate change amplify wind-driven wildfires across the American West, transforming them into ever more dangerous conflagrations over time, firefighters are trying to stay a step ahead by developing new and smarter ways to prepare for their arduous jobs. When "critical weather" is predicted – hot, dry winds or lightning storms – the technology, on top of hard-earned experience, allows California planners to pre-position fire engines, bulldozers, aircraft and hand crews armed with shovels and chain saws in areas where they can respond more quickly. With the computer modeling, "they can do a daily risk forecast across the state, so they use that for planning," said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokesperson for Cal Fire, Californias firefighting agency. "Your job is to manage the fire, and these are tools that will help you do so" with a degree of accuracy unheard of even five years ago, said Char Miller, a professor at Pomona College in California and a widely recognized wildfire policy expert. In another bid to gain an early advantage, California is buying a dozen new Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters – at $24 million each – that can operate at night, fly faster, drop more water and carry more firefighters than the Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1H "Hueys" they will eventually replace.