On June 26, CBS' "60 Minutes" ran a story on how California departments are now using old military helicopters to fight wildfires at night.
Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy told 60 Minutes, 'These fires get so large that there aren't enough firefighters, there aren't enough airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers, etc. We were at the point that if we were to send much more, we are going to have firehouses that are empty! And for the people we are sworn to serve, it's not acceptable to have firehouse empty for any length of time."
Among the highlights of the interview, Fennessy showed Bill Whitaker his new firefighting choppers, the "Quick Reaction Force" which are more like flying computers with rotors on top. Fennessy calls them "the Hammer!"
The massive Chinook used to fly in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army. It has now been retrofitted to drop water or retardant on wildfires. It can drop 3,000 gallons, that's about 10 times what most firefighting choppers drop.
And the best part? It can fly at night!
Fennessy calls it a game-changer.
