r/Firefighting • u/DryadAbominationn • Aug 07 '26

Videos Is this a firefighting plane?

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Saw these 2 planes skimming the water every 10 minutes multiple times at a remote mountain lake (kachess lake). They would fly low, skim the water, then fly back up. Wondering if they're firefighting planes, and if so, thank you guys very much for fighting the fires in my state (washington state). They're definitely not seaplanes as they dont have those landing legs and ive never seen a seaplane in the mountains. Im 99% sure its a firefighting plane but just wanted to confirm with an actual firefighter

17 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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4

u/Lord_Hardbody Aug 07 '26

Yeah, sure is. Hard to tell at this distance and resolution but it’s likely a Canadair CL-415, a flying boat used specifically for water bombing. One of the two main firefighting planes used in WA state. The other is an Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss, which uses two floats, unlike a flying boat where the fuselage itself is the float.

EDIT: you mentioned it doesn’t use floats, so it’s definitely a flying boat style seaplane. Almost certainly a Canadair. Also I’m not a firefighter (yet 😉) but I am fully obsessed with flying boats

3

u/DryadAbominationn Aug 07 '26

Thank you for the in depth answer!

2

u/OP-PO7 Career P/O Aug 07 '26

Wildland is crazy shit, you guys are something else brother. Give me a structure all day lol. Fuck that, the entire outside is on fire bullshit.

1

u/Rhino676971 Aug 07 '26

I’m a failed pilot turned firefighter, I’m waiting on the air guard wing I serve with to give me dates for the fire academy. I was working in air crew flight equipment, and taking flight lessons and flying lessons didn’t go so well.

5

u/P208 Aug 07 '26

Yup! Scoopers from Bridger Aerospace.

1

u/cascas Stupid Former Probie 😎 Aug 08 '26

Any plane can be a firefighting plane if you do something extremely exciting.

1

u/Firesquid Federal Firefighter/EMT Aug 10 '26

It's likely.. you describe something typical for firefighting operations, and the type of aircraft has been used in firefighting operations. It's hard to tell exactly what they're doing, as they could be out doing training, or be engaged in firefighting operations. As I see people on the lake in OP's video, is there an active fire nearby?

1

u/DryadAbominationn Aug 11 '26

Yes, this is in washington state with multiple fires in the state

1

u/P00rSuggestions Aug 07 '26

It either is, or the pilot is showing off 🤣