VAN NUYS, Calif. — When it comes to putting out massive wildfires in Southern California, Canadian pilot Pascal Duclos can get water fast.

“So it takes, like, 10 to 12 seconds to scoop 1,800 gallons,” he said gesturing to the underbelly of a CL415 Super Scooper plane, which he’s been flying for 10 years.

Every fall, he comes from Quebec, Canada to Los Angeles to help with firefighting efforts from the sky. He worries this year’s dry conditions could make things especially tough.

“That’s what I saw this year, it was pretty brown over here when I was looking out down at the hill,” Duclos said.

It’s day one of his 28-day assignment helping out the LA County Fire Department, which already sent more than 150 firefighters to help with four fires burning in other parts of California.

LACFD Chief Daryl Osby says he wants to make sure there are enough resources here in Southern California because peak fire season is starting.

“We are stretched thin,” he said. “Particularly around October we start getting rain and snow in Northern California but that doesn’t appear that it’s going to happen.” 

Osby says LA County Fire crews are still fighting four blazes outside of Southern California, including the Dixie Fire burning over five Northern California counties and the Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe. 

Osby says it’s the 28th year the department has leased two CL415 Super Scooper planes from the government of Quebec, which costs $4 million. The two aircraft plus the department’s 10 helicopters, which can carry 1,000 gallons of water each, will help when Santa Ana winds kick up.

“They fly day and night so we have them year round for any incident that we have right now,” he said.

Osby says residents can help firefighters locally by making sure there is good brush clearance around homes. He also reminds the public not to fly drones over wildfires because it means the department has to keep its aircraft grounded, which can hamper firefighting efforts.

In the meantime, Duclos says he’s ready for anything, especially after he battled the fast-moving Saddleridge Fire in 2019, which burned near the San Fernando Valley, killed one person and injured eight.

“There’s a sense of giving back to the community. The mission with that, I think is really important,” he said.