Firefighting helicopters are key to battling wildfires at night. A look at their high-tech features​on January 25, 2025 at 2:14 am

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — During the past two weeks, there have been 60 aircraft battling the various fires across Southern California, and they’ve dropped more than 3.1 million gallons of water on the flames.

The nighttime firefighting helicopters have played a significant role in battling the flames when the sun goes down.

“The firefighting helicopters play a crucial and integral role in fighting the wildfires, specifically the nighttime firefighting helicopters, they take advantage of reduced temps wind and increase in humidity levels,” said Tyler Tomlinson with the Grass Valley Fire Department.

In AIR7, helicopter reporter Chris Cristi watched Wednesday night’s quick response knocking down the Sepulveda Fire.

Wave after wave of water drops essentially stopped the fire in its tracks in about an hour.

Also, the barrage of water, retardant and overwhelming manpower prevented the Hughes Fire from climbing over a ridge and into Castaic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom took notice, too.

“The job they did last night, 4,000 personnel, saving the community. Had we not had the resources the success of last night and this morning would not have materialized,” he said.

The very large air tankers typically take center stage during the day. The massive planes have delivered nearly 600,000 gallons of Phos-Chek ahead of fires this month. But once the sun goes down, they’re grounded, and the awe-inspiring precision of these nighttime helicopters take over.

It might seem much more difficult to fly and fight fires after dark, but these crews have tools that make the work in night sky easier, like infrared technology to see hot spots.

“The pilots use NVGs, night vision goggles, pick up heat signatures and hot spots and perform water drops on these areas,” Tomlinson said.

The governor understands the immeasurable value of these aerial attacks. Newsom announced more funding for more fire resources, including additional helicopters to help fight future fires.

“The ability and things no other jurisdiction can do in the country, including the investments of 16 new helicopters and those Firehawks doing suppression, those Firehawks that likely saved large parts of Los Angeles, those are all new investments,” Newsom said.