Los Angeles County is keeping its big guns in the sky for wildfire season. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors signed off on a $41.25 million, five-year lease that keeps two CL-415 “SuperScooper” water-dropping air tankers based at Van Nuys Airport during the peak months of fire danger. County officials say the aircraft give firefighters a fast initial punch against wind-driven brush fires before they can explode out of control.
Board approval and contract terms
The board packet authorizes a maximum contract sum of $41.25 million, built from a $37.5 million base with a 10% contingency, and hands the fire chief authority to execute the leases year by year, according to the county's board memo. The memo breaks that out as $7.5 million per year and makes clear the district will only activate individual lease years if fire conditions justify it.
“The SuperScoopers play a critical role and enhance the District’s fire suppression capabilities during the critical months of LA County’s wildfire season,” Fire Chief Anthony Marrone wrote in a letter to supervisors, noting that Service aérien gouvernemental is entering its 33rd year of working with the county. Marrone pointed to the crews' familiarity with local scoop spots and the district’s aerial firefighting procedures as a major on-the-ground advantage.
How the planes work
The CL-415 is an amphibious water bomber built to skim across lakes, reservoirs or the ocean, gulp down roughly 1,600 gallons of water and then hustle back to the fire line. The planes can take on a full load in about 12 seconds, a turnaround speed that lets crews hammer hot spots with repeated drops when they are operating near coasts and reservoirs, Los Angeles World Airports notes.
A decades-long partnership
The renewal keeps alive Los Angeles County’s long-running relationship with Québec’s Service aérien gouvernemental, which has been sending two CL-415s and their crews to the region since 1994, the Québec government says. The seasonal deployments typically last between 90 and 180 days and arrive with pilots, copilots and maintenance staff who are certified to operate under California regulations.
Budget and timing
The board moved on the contract Tuesday with the county’s existing lease set to expire this week, according to MyNewsLA. County documents state that the Consolidated Fire Protection District will pay for the agreement out of its own budget, with no hit to the county’s general fund.
Procurement and legal notes
County staff treated the agreement as a sole-source procurement with Québec and determined that the contract is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. The annual lease wraps in the aircraft, flight crews and a maintenance program, and the district keeps the power to amend, suspend or terminate individual lease years if needed.
With heat and dry offshore winds often arriving earlier and staying longer, supervisors and fire brass say locking in the SuperScoopers gives Los Angeles County another critical layer of aerial attack near reservoirs and the coastline. The two CL-415s will fly alongside the department’s existing helicopters and fixed-wing fleet that are on call for fast, early strikes on brush and wildland fires.
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