Two Water-Scooping Aircraft Added to MI Wildland Firefighting Fleet

Arielle Breen

The Huron Daily Tribune, Bad Axe, Mich.

(TNS)

May 11—The state has added two specialized planes to its firefighting fleet at a time when much of the region is under high, very high and extremely high fire danger.

Two Fire Boss aircraft have been leased for the height of wildfire season by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The small, white planes are equipped with floats that can scoop up to 800 gallons of water in 15 seconds from area lakes during firefighting.

The region has frequently recorded days of elevated fire danger. As of Saturday, the state's elevated fire danger map listed places like Manistee County as high risk.

Most recently, crews responded to a wildfire in Presque Isle County that covered about 180 acres over the weekend. A DNR news release notes that a vehicle that got stuck on a forest road was burned. Its occupants were able to get away from the vehicle and are safe.

Laurie Abel, the DNR Incident Management Team's public information officer, said in the release that the cause of the fire hasn't yet been identified.

Crews worked to contain marsh fire Saturday near Onekama Township

"The fire was so big that we just couldn't get our hand lines in, definitely something that you want to attack from the air."

"The fire is burning in jack pine, hardwood and a blueberry bog," Abel said Sunday evening.

Evacuations have not been made, and homes and structures are not considered at risk.

"Firefighters have achieved approximately 60% containment as suppression efforts continue throughout the night and into Monday," the release states.

The new planes will be part of the fleet through June and are housed at the Gaylord Regional Airport.

"This central location is ideal to respond to wildfire anywhere in the state and especially for the areas hit hard by the ice storm of 2025," reads part of the DNR release.

The planes are paid for by a "one-time allocation from the Michigan Legislature to mitigate the effects of the March 2025 ice storm."

The ice storm left branches and downed trees that can impede responders from being able to get into the woods with equipment, DNR aviation manager Kevin Jacobs said in the release.

"The added debris on the ground will add fuel to the fire, which could cause wildfires to spread faster and burn with more intensity," he said.

The planes are designed for agricultural use and modified to include floats for landing on water. They require about 1 mile of open water to perform a water-scooping sequence.

Jacobs said the aircraft will not replace crews on the ground but can offer an important head start once a fire is found.

"They can get to a fire scene fast," he said. "Having two of these planes working in tandem can make a difference in our ability to contain fires and protect people, property and natural resources."

The DNR also has an agreement with Michigan State Police to use two police helicopters to carry water with 320-gallon urethane buckets that can dip from smaller water sources.

"Utilizing both types of aircraft, we can quickly get to a fire with water scooped from large lakes or small ponds," Jacobs said.

Drone operators are reminded to not use the machines near an active wildfire. The news release includes the slogan "if you fly, we can't."

Jacobs said that "drones do not mix with fire suppression aircraft."

"People need to keep drones away from fire scenes so we can safely fight fires," he said.

"Helicopters and planes need to operate within 100 feet of the ground in order to scoop and drop water, the same altitude range as many drones," the release states.

Anyone planning to burn debris is encouraged to check the state's burn permits management system map online at dnr.state.mi.us/burnpermits. As of Monday morning, burning permits were not being issued for locations in northern Michigan.

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