Bethenny Frankel says she is sending a plane to the Amazon to help put out rainforest fires
Entrepreneur and reality star Bethenny Frankel has been making waves on social media lately. The "Real Housewives of New York City" alum recently announced on Twitter she is going to charter a full-size supertanker to spray fire retardant on the Amazon rainforest, which is being ravaged by flames.
Frankel had Twitter's attention already — she recently announced she was leaving the "Real Housewives of New York City," and used social media to wish her fellow housewives good luck, while confusing many followers about her marriage status. Then she turned the spotlight on a more serious issue: the Amazon.
"Gearing up to attack the Amazon crisis, specifically saving the lives of indigenous tribes & animals," Frankel wrote in a tweet. "Tomorrow I'll get specific but, I'm chartering a full size supertanker (fire truck in a plane) to spray massive area. I'll reach out w details for you to donate. Planning trip."
She then replied to a Twitter user who commended her for taking quick action to help, instead of just posting about the Amazon like many other celebrities had.
"People with major impact are posting inauthentic photos," Frankel wrote in her reply. "They feel they need to post for PR but they need to not regurgitate false info ... Information is power. Getting real details."
Frankel called out several well-meaning celebrities for sharing old photos of the Amazon while raising awareness for the current crisis.
In another tweet, Frankel explained she a "badass fire plane that can spray a massive area and help people & animals."
"SuperTankers" are converted Boeing 747-400 planes that act as massive firetrucks in the sky. The U.S. first deployed the Global SuperTanker Service in 2017 to help fight wildfires raging in California.
Global SuperTanker Service president and CEO Jim Wheeler told CBS News at the time that the company operated the largest such plane in the world. "We can drop a line of retardant about three kilometers long or, if you will, about a mile-and-a-half," Wheeler told CBS News' Mark Strassmann in July 2017.
On Saturday, Global SuperTanker tweeted that it had sent a plane to Boliva — Brazil's neighbor to the west — to to help fight the rainforest fires there.
"The #SuperTanker safely and successfully completed 4 sorties today. #BoliviaFires," the company tweeted in an update on Sunday. CBS News has reached out to Global SuperTanker Services for more details on their mission in the Amazon.
Frankel admitted she was still sorting out details of her plan, but wanted to let the public know what she was working on since they have been involved in and supported her charities in the past.
This is not the first time Frankel has chartered a private plane for good. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Frankel sent a plane full of supplies to Puerto Rico. She also visited the devastated island, as well as other places affected by natural disasters, several times in the following months.
She currently heads the "B Strong" program, which is "a disaster relief initiative that provides real time emergency assistance to individuals and their families in crisis," according to its website.
