The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has added two water-scooping planes to help battle wildfires.
Two Fire Boss planes, which are each capable of scooping up to 800 gallons of water from a lake in 15 seconds, were leased from late April through early June -- DNR officials said this is typically the worst part of Michigan’s fire season.
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The planes are Air Tractor AT-802 models, designed for agricultural use and modified to include floats for water landings. They need about a mile of open water to perform their water-scooping sequence.
They will be housed at Gaylord Regional Airport, which officials said is ideal for responding to wildfires anywhere in the state, especially for areas hit hard by the ice storm in 2025.
They won’t replace crews on the ground, DNR aviation manager Kevin Jacobs said, but can give a head start once a fire is discovered.
“They can get to a fire scene fast,” Jacobs said. “Having two of these planes working in tandem can make a difference in our ability to contain fires and protect people, property and natural resources.”
DNR on drones during wildfires
Along with DNR’s air power against wildfires, Michigan State Police use two police helicopters to carry “Bambi buckets,” urethane buckets that hold up to 320 gallons of water.
Helicopters and planes have to operate within 100 feet of the ground to scoop up and drop water, which is the same altitude as many drones.
“Drones do not mix with fire suppression aircraft,” Jacobs said. “People need to keep drones away from fire scenes so we can safely fight fires.”