Hailed at its inception as a joint public-private partnership between the county fire agencies of Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange County and SoCal Edison, the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) program has dropped millions of gallons of water, aiding aerial firefighting efforts during hundreds of fires since its inception in 2021.
The four-aircraft program involves the operation of three Chinook CH-47 helicopters, each capable of carrying 3,000 gallons of water, all led by a Sikorsky S-76 command and control aircraft, piloted by members of the three primary county agencies and Coulson Aviation.
The helicopters could be deployed at a moment’s notice, primarily in a six-county region of Southern California but would be available as needed to fight fires in any of the 15 counties where Southern California Edison (SCE) provides electric utility services, providing aircraft support in areas where tanker planes might not always play a role, particularly at night when those planes are usually grounded…