California's Air Tankers Grounded Following Fatal Crash

All of California’s 22 S-2T air tankers have been grounded after one of them crashed while fighting a wildfire in Yosemite National Park, killing the pilot.

Most of the tankers haven’t been in use recently, as California’s wildfires have largely been brought under control. But the fleet will remain grounded until deemed safe by officials, Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Los Angeles Time Wednesday, according to an article posted on the newspaper’s website.

It’s not yet clear how long they’ll be grounded.

California is one of a handful of states to maintain a fleet of firefighting planes. The S-2T tankers, which can carry up to 1,200 gallons of retardant, are old Navy aircraft retrofitted in the 1990s.

The tanker that crashed Tuesday was among a handful of aircraft fighting the 130-acre Dog Rock fire, which broke out in the afternoon on El Portal Road between the Yosemite’s boundary and the Arch Rock entrance station.

--City News Service.

(Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone)