Arizona pilot gives insight into challenges California crews are facing

BUCKEYE, AZ (AZFamily) — Beryl Shears knows a thing or two about fighting wildfires.

The Arizona pilot and former firefighter has a hangar in Buckeye where he keeps his fleet of planes, saving lives and property around the state and across the country since 1989, through his aerial firefighting operation, the Western Pilot Service.

“Our job is to make that retardant touch the retardant that was dropped before us,” said Shears. “If we have a gap in there, that fire blows through the gap and burns up all of the work that had been done. Our work is very specific to tie the lines together.”

Shears is keeping a close on the firefight in California, where hundreds of homes have burned down. Crews are struggling to get the wildfires under control.

Shears said one of the biggest challenges for fighters has been the wind.

“One, its harder to fly an airplane in that much wind,” said Shears. “Number two, when you drop that retardant, the wind is taking it and it’s also gusting, so it means the line around you doesn’t get a straight line. It’s harder to be accurate.”

A lack of water in and around Los Angeles has also impeded efforts to fight the flames.

One of the big questions on social media has been: why aren’t crews using the ocean water?

“Found a solution to fires in California - its called water,” read one post on social media. Shears insists it’s not that simple.

Saltwater can be corrosive to firefighting equipment and cause damage to tools, tanks, hydrants and hoses.

It can also damage homes, cars, plants, and the environment.

“You can’t pump that ocean water through the hydrant system,” said Shears. “That’s the city water supply, its water you drink, the same water mains. I do know the saltwater is only good for things that live in saltwater.”

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