Supervisor Kathryn Barger, in a bid to bolster L.A. County’s firefighting efforts, announced at the Wildfire Town Hall this week the county is purchasing two additional Firehawk helicopters.
The addition would bring the total number of Firehawk helicopters in the county’s firefighting arsenal to [b]seven[/b] in the next couple of years.
The cost of a Black Hawk helicopter is about $1.7 million, but the cost of outfitting it for firefighting and maintenance brings the total to about $4.2 million.
“We have nine helicopters, including three Sikorsky S-70 (Firehawk) helicopters and six Bell 412 helicopters,”
Two additional Firehawks are currently being outfitted for firefighting efforts. One is expected to rejoin the fleet in October, the other one in the spring of 2020.
Source: The Signal, Jim Holt, July 23, 2019