Cal Fire is conducting its largest nighttime exercise yet, equipping crews to continue firefights late into the night.
While hovering hundreds of feet above the flames, firefighters undergo training to use tactical equipment such as night vision goggles to fight fires in the dark.
It’s an operation carefully executed by division chief Brian Renner, who calls himself a “helicopter man.” With more than a decade of experience, he combined his passion for flying with his skill at fighting fires to create the massive training exercise taking place just north of Sacramento.
“I just feel like the job that I have and the role that we play as helicopter operations really makes a difference and helps support the people on the ground and helps protect lives,” Renner said.
Cal Fire has acquired exclusive Chinook helicopters to keep the gunfights going under the moonlight.
Although fire season has only just begun, the agency said they have already seen more than 40,000 acres burned this year.
But with this training, more crews will now be equipped to provide air support at night – including at Alma Station in Los Gatos for large-scale fires in the Bay Area.
“Normally at night the wind starts to die down, the temperature drops, the humidity goes up and when the ground firefighters are still actively involved in the fire and they have water dropping helicopters there to help support them and their structure defense and their perimeter control of the incident,” Renner said.
Crews monitor the nights on hills so they resemble a fire perimeter as seen through night vision equipment.
Renner said that when a real fire breaks out, this training will help air teams learn to fly together and provide necessary support to ground crews.
“It really gets everyone on the same page,” he said. “We train to one standard so that if we encounter an incident, expectations are met with good communication.”
It’s a standard that could only come from someone with his level of knowledge on land and above ground.
“It’s very rewarding, it’s very challenging. And it’s something that I’m really passionate about,” Renner said. “I like to see that we’re making a difference there and I know we are.”
