To fight against the forest fires ravaging certain neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the authorities called on the services of the company “10 tanker air carrier”. This chartered five DC-10 airliners equipped to be XXL water bombers.
For great ills, great remedies. Since January 7, fires of unprecedented scale have ravaged Los Angeles (United States). The largest, which destroyed almost the entire Pacific Palisades neighborhood to the west of the city, covered more than 9,000 hectares.
Faced with such large fires, conventional water bombers such as Canadairs or specialized helicopters are sometimes too few in number. But California can count on the company’s fleet of “10 tanker air carriers”. Founded in 2006, it operates five DC-10 airliners, built by McDonnell Douglas between 1969 and 1989, specially modified to fight fires.
Gigantic dimensions
Powered by three reactors, these wide-body aircraft, approximately 55m long and with a wingspan of 51m, offer unrivaled capabilities in the fight against forest fires. After purchasing five aircraft from airlines, “10 tanker air carrier” equipped them with a huge tank capable of containing more than 35,000 liters of water or retardant.
This product, bright red in color to allow firefighters to know where it was dropped, is composed of water and ammonium phosphate salts. It increases the degree of pyrolysis of plants and delays their combustion. Discharged upstream of fires, it helps to contain the fire and prevent the flames from advancing.
27 million liters spilled in 2024
And the DC-10 Air tankers are an invaluable aid to firefighters. In less than eight seconds, they can pour as much retardant as six canadairs over much larger areas.
The company “10 tanker air carrier” claims more than 767 firefighting missions in the United States in 2024, and more than 27 million liters of retardant product spilled.
Despite the intervention of these planes, fires continue to rage in Los Angeles. This Saturday, according to the latest report from the Californian authorities, five fires are still in progress. More than 150 square kilometers went up in smoke, one and a half times the size of Paris.
