Cal Fire Rebuilding Newest Member Of Its Fleet After Deadly Crash
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A deadly air tanker crash in 2014 put Cal Fire in a dark chapter when it came to fighting fires. Not only did it lose a veteran pilot, but they had to operate in the peak of the drought without one of its main aircraft.
It's taken Cal Fire a while to find the right aircraft, an S2 World War II plane. There's only 100 of the particular model and manufacturer in the world, but they found it in Arizona. They started the process of two months, literally building this new air tanker from scratch.
Veteran pilot Craig Hunt was killed while flying his tanker over the Dog Rock fire burning year Yosemite's arch rock in October 2014.
"A lot of emotions are flowing, because it represents the building of what he stood for," said pilot Barry Lloyd.
And now, he says it's time to rebuild.
Cal Fire typically has a fleet of 23 airtankers, each critical when it comes to fighting fires.
Spokesman Daniel Berlant gave CBS13 a first look at the body of what will soon be their new aircraft.
"We have to put a tank in the bottom, replace engines," he said.
With an expected busy fire season around the corner and dry conditions, Cal Fire has already seen 600 fires this year. They've assigned special mechanics solely to the project in a rush effort to get their fleet back on its feet.
Since the rebuilding is being done in honor of Hunt, it makes sense why they're retiring his tail number.
"That tanker number was identified with him and it always will be, and it wouldn't be appropriate to assign it to someone else," he said.
It should be done in about two years at a cost between $1 million and $2 million.