Two huge firefighting helicopters touched down Thursday in Riverton, Wyoming, on their way to water-bomb the devastating wildfires burning in Los Angeles County, California, a worker at Central Wyoming Regional Airport’s fuel station told Cowboy State Daily.
The massive Chinook choppers have two rotors, weigh up to 50,000 pounds each and can lift up to 26,000 pounds. They pull water from reservoirs into a hose and release it onto fires.
Steve Crane, who works at the Riverton airport’s fuel station, said helicopters from Billings Flying Service in Montana have stopped at the central Wyoming site before.
“They know we’re just a good airport to land a big helicopter at, and they know we have fuel,” said Crane, adding that the fuel in Riverton is reasonably priced. “They did call ahead yesterday to make sure we were open, and everything was available.
“It’s a really good airport,” he added.
Crane had posted about the pit stop on his Facebook page, writing that it’s odd to see fire crews visiting the town in winter.
“Godspeed,” his post added.
Wyoming had a busy fire season, with more than 850,000 acres burning, mostly across the northern half of the state. It was prolonged by large late-season wildfires around Togwotee Pass in northwest Wyoming and along the eastern face of the Bighorn Mountains. Winter snows brought a welcome reprieve for those.
But in and around Los Angeles, five fires continue to burn, leaving at least 10 people dead and destroying more than 10,000 structures. More than 56 square miles have burned, CBS News reported.
Multiple agencies across Colorado deployed this week to help fight the fires as well.
Billings Flying Service did not immediately respond to a Cowboy State Daily phone message request for comment.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
