GA pilots have been doing their share in the battle against wildfires in California - largely by staying out of the way. "People are being pretty sensible about it," Roger Griffiths, airport manager at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, Calif., near San Diego, told AVweb Friday Though local pilots have been grounded by temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) in place to support firefighting efforts, the skies above San Diego County are buzzing with activity. Aircraft ranging from helicopters and single-engine air tankers (SEAT) to a DC-10 and a 60-year-old Martin Mars flying boat brought in from British Columbia are being used to attack the fires, which forced the evacuation of more than a million people last week. Griffiths said two of the three runways at his airport were closed and turned into parking ramps for helicopters, as many as 30 at a time.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/southern-california-g-a-waits-out-fires