Governor Newsom announces expansion of the world’s largest civilian aerial firefighting fleet: deployment of fourth C-130 H airtanker and new helitack base

The newest additions to California's aerial firefighting fleet enter active service as hotter, drier season begins

What you need to know: California is bringing on new aircraft to the world's largest civilian aerial firefighting fleet with the state's fourth C-130 Hercules airtanker and California's 11th helitack base. The new C-130 airtanker and helitack base- which will host Sikorsky S70i Fire Hawk helicopters-will be tapped to fight wildfires and protect the lives and homes of Californians.

SACRAMENTO - Marking a significant advancement in California's wildfire preparedness, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the state's fourth C-130 Hercules (C-130H) airtanker has entered active service. Alongside this deployment, the Governor celebrated the launch of California's 11th Helitack base, which hosts the Sikorsky S70i Fire Hawk helicopter. Both resources will be stationed at the Ramona Airport in San Diego County, strategically integrating them into California's world-leading aerial fleet.

The addition of this fourth C-130 Hercules airtanker to our world-class fleet, combined with the historic establishment of our 11th Helitack base, significantly enhances the rapid, aggressive response needed to save lives and protect our natural resources. California is making the investment into the key resources that help protect our communities from catastrophic wildfire.

Governor Gavin Newsom

In 2024, under Governor Newsom's leadership, California made history as the first state in the nation to own, operate, and deploy its own fleet of C-130H Airtankers. Today's deployment marks the successful conversion and operational readiness of the fourth aircraft out of a planned statewide fleet of seven. This newly deployed fourth C-130 Hercules delivers unmatched payload capabilities to the frontlines, capable of dropping up to 4,000 gallons of fire retardant to aggressively fight fast-moving blazes.

Governor Newsom spearheaded the initiative for California to take on ownership of these aircraft, speed up the time need to have them ready for firefighting operations in California, and expand CAL FIRE's firefighting capabilities. In 2018, the state secured approval to acquire seven C-130's from the Coast Guard. In late 2023, President Joe Biden signed legislation officially transferring the ownership of the seven C-130H aircraft to the state, where CAL FIRE would complete the work of retrofitting the aircraft for wildfire suppression operations.

California is also expanding its rotary-wing tactical capabilities with the official establishment of CAL FIRE's 11th Helitack base at the Ramona Airport. Following intensive real-world training, this milestone brings a permanent, highly versatile CAL FIRE Helitack crew and S70i Fire Hawk helicopter to San Diego County, substantially upgrading regional and statewide rapid-response capacity.

"This milestone is about much more than adding advanced aircraft to our fleet; it is a testament to the dedicated people who make our mission possible," said CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler. "Success in the air always begins on the ground. The pilots, mechanics, and support crews working side-by-side behind the scenes have put in months of intensive preparation to stand up this base. It is their unwavering commitment to service and seamless teamwork that ensures we are ready to keep Californians safe ahead of peak fire season."

By positioning both the C-130H airtanker and the Sikorsky S70i Fire Hawk at the Ramona Air Attack Base, California is maximizing its tactical capabilities and maintaining the flexibility to surge these assets statewide. This strategic deployment builds upon a deep operational legacy; established in 1957, Ramona is the oldest air attack base in the department's system and will now expand its permanent fleet to five aircraft.

As the final integration phase wraps up over the coming weeks, additional operational and mission-specific training will continue at the Ramona base to ensure support crews, pilots, and technicians are fully integrated into the statewide aviation program.

Cutting-edge technology that compliments California's firefighting fleet

Under Governor Newsom's leadership, California has made major investments in drone, aircraft, satellite, and advanced mapping technologies to quickly identify and address evolving wildfires.

• Eyes on the fire: UC San Diego and the State of California partnered to develop ALERTCalifornia, a statewide network of over a thousand cameras to identify and monitor wildfires. ALERTCalifornia AI-Camera's have detected over 900 fires on state lands before 911 calls were made, and were named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2023.

• Real-time intel: The first-in-the-nation Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS) provides real-time aerial intelligence, advanced fire mapping, and predictive analytics to support wildfire response for every California County. Flying over 2,000 missions since the start of the program in 2019, FIRIS along with CAL FIRE's aerial intelligence platform, Intel 641, are critical assets to help identify real-time fire mapping within minutes of ignition.

• Forecasting the threat: California's Wildfire Forecast & Threat Intelligence Integration Center (WFTIIC) is a first-of-its-kind center serving as the state's central hub for coordinating wildfire forecasting, weather intelligence, and fire threat assessments.

• Mapping wildfire risk: Last year, California launched LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) three-dimensional maps of the entire state. LiDAR maps are the gold standard for finding forest and vegetation information, helping decision makers get a clear picture of the fuel load and wildfire risks.

California's comprehensive wildfire strategy

Governor Newsom is committed to tackling the wildfire crisis from every angle - prevention, response, and recovery. Since 2021, the state has invested billions of dollars in wildfire prevention and forest resilience, expanding cutting-edge technologies that help firefighters respond faster and more safely, and forged unprecedented partnerships with federal, tribal, and local governments, as well as private and non-profit landowners.

Streamlined approval of forest management projects has allowed the State to address emergency conditions expeditiously. By using a transparent, time-limited framework with clear environmental sideboards, the Newsom Administration is:

• Reducing near-term wildfire danger in high-risk communities.
• Protecting lives, homes, and critical infrastructure.
• Improving forest health and watershed resilience in the face of a hotter, drier climate.
• Creating a bridge to a durable, long-term regulatory framework for forest health and fuels reduction that will outlast any single emergency order.

California's unprecedented wildfire readiness

As part of the state's ongoing investment in wildfire resilience and emergency response, CAL FIRE has significantly expanded its workforce over the past five years by adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal positions annually - nearly double that of the previous administration. Over the next four years and beyond, CAL FIRE will be hiring thousands of additional firefighters, natural resource professionals, and support personnel to meet the state's growing demands.

Governor Newsom has invested millions of dollars to protect communities from wildfire - with $135 million available for new and ongoing prevention projects and $72 million going out the door to projects across the state. This is part of over $5 billion the Newsom administration, in collaboration with the legislature, has invested in wildfire and forest resilience since 2019.

This builds on consecutive years of intensive and focused work by California to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires. New, bold moves to streamline state-level regulatory processes builds long-term efforts already underway in California to increase wildfire response and forest management in the face of a hotter, drier climate.

The state's efforts are in stark contrast to the Trump administration's dangerous cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, which also threatens the safety of communities across the state. The U.S. Forest Service has lost 10% of all positions and 25% of positions outside of direct wildfire response - both of which are likely to impact wildfire response this year. In recent weeks, the Trump administration proposed a massive reorganization that would shutter the Pacific Regional Forest Service office and other regional Forest Service offices across the West, compounding staff cuts and voluntary resignations across the agency.

As the conditions that fueled 2020 become more common, CAL FIRE urges residents to prepare: make an evacuation plan, pack a go bag, and sign up for local emergency alerts.

To learn more about preparedness, visit ReadyforWildfire.org.