'Super Scooper' Firefighting Planes Return to Los Angeles County

Every September the County Fire Department gets a new tool in its aerial arsenal: two CL-415 "Super Scooper" planes, which the department says are nearly unmatched in their ability to transport water quickly and efficiently to the site of a wildfire.

This week, the department honored the return of the planes with a brief ceremonial announcement with County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Altadena's elected representative to the Board of Supervisors.

Contrary to some reports, the "Super Scooper" does not have the biggest water capacity of any water-dropping plane in the county, but it does have an unmatched ability to pick up a lot of water really fast, according to Inspector Quvondo Johnson of the County Fire Department.

The planes can carry about 1,600 gallons of water and can pick it up in just 12 seconds, Johnson said.  The video at right, shot by KTLA, illustrates just how fast the water pick-up goes.

The planes are on lease from Quebec, where the fire season is essentially over by the end of August, Johnson said.

The planes were much-discussed during the 2009 Station Fire, which started just days before they were scheduled to arrive from Canada. 

Tony Bell, a spokesman for Antonovich, said that though it would be a tremendous asset for the department to own and operate full-time, the cost is prohibitive, which is why the county has a part-time use.  Hopefully, he said, that could change in the future.