Cal Fire shows off Napa’s firefighting helicopter fleet ahead of peak season
As California’s peak fire season approaches, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit and Napa County officials gathered Monday, June 23 at Napa County Airport to showcase the unit’s helicopters and discuss local wildfire preparedness efforts.
On display was the unit’s Cal Fire Hawk helicopter, known as the Fire Hawk, stationed at Napa County Airport for peak fire season for the fifth year in a row. The Fire Hawk carries a heli-attack crew of nine, is capable of delivering 1,000 gallons of water and is deployed during initial attacks on wildfires as well as assisting in other emergencies.
“This exclusive resource gives us a powerful advantage in responding to fires quickly and effectively, often within minutes,” said Anne Cottrell, chair of the Napa County Board of Supervisors.
Also on display were two PJ Helicopters: a Boeing CH-47D Chinook and a UH-60A+ Black Hawk, both contracted with Cal Fire to assist in operations from this summer through the fall.
Matt Ryan, chief of the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, explained that the Chinook helicopter is “one of the most capable aerial firefighting platforms in the world,” able to carry up to 26,000 pounds as well as 2,300 gallons of water. Like the Fire Hawk, the Chinook will be based at Napa County Airport for the summer.
The Black Hawk is another high-performance aircraft, Ryan said, designed to be deployed rapidly as incidents emerge and capable of carrying 1,100 gallons of water to a destination.
“These aviation resources are key to achieving one of Cal Fire’s core objectives – containing 95% of wildfires at 10 acres or less,” Ryan said. “It’s only part of a broader, year-round commitment to fire resilience.”
The Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit is one of Cal Fire’s largest 21 administrative units. Nearly 1.4 million people live within the unit’s jurisdiction, which spans 4.5 million acres — about 6,800 square miles — across Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
The unit also oversees about 2 million acres of State Responsibility Area, land for which Cal Fire has financial responsibility for wildfire prevention and suppression.
Cottrell explained that since the Fire Hawk helicopter became part of the county’s wildfire response strategy in 2021, Napa has experienced only eight wildfires that exceeded 10 acres in size — about two per year. Ten years prior, the county averaged about five wildfires a year that exceeded 10 acres, according to Cottrell.
In preparation for peak fire season this year, Cottrell urges Napa residents to create defensible space around their homes, sign up for ALERT Napa County to receive emergency and evacuation notifications, and to pack a go-bag that can be brought with them in the event of an evacuation.
“Together, we can continue to protect what we love most about living in Napa County: our safety, our open spaces and our vibrant communities,” she said.
