My first close-up experience with the effectiveness of aerial firefighting happened during the devastating Woolsey Fire in Southern California in 2018. About 1,500 homes and other structures in my neighborhood and the surrounding area were destroyed by flames in a few days. The fire started on a Thursday afternoon, and by the time the sun set that Friday, 70,000 acres were scorched. Two related problems can be blamed for the devastation: The strong winds spread the fires with immense speed; they also prevented the use of aerial support.
The flames of the Woolsey Fire flared up in the area of Simi Valley and sped all the way down to the beaches of Point Dume and Malibu — a distance as an airplane flies of about 20 miles. I’m sure the last thing the owners of the multimillion-dollar homes along the beaches expected was for their houses to burn as a result of a wildfire.
