SALEM, Ore. — The official start to wildfire season began earlier this month in Oregon and officials with the Oregon Department of Forestry are still making sure firefighters are ready for what might come our way in the next couple of months.
In Salem on Thursday, several trainees with the Oregon Department of Forestry got hands-on experience getting single engine air tankers filled up with what’s called fire-ice. It’s an environmentally friendly powder that’s mixed with water in big tanks. Once it’s mixed, it’s connected through hoses to the plane.
“The product can withstand 5,000 degrees of heat which allows firefighters to build a line and knock down some of the fire and provide suppression," said Matt Struzziero with Gel Tech Solutions, the company that manufactures fire-ice.
These single engine air tankers can hold up to 800 gallons of water.