Spectators Go To Lake Elsinore For Firefighting Plane's Arrival

[MIKE USWFA]

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

LAKE ELSINORE - Against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky, the red-and-white seaplane rumbled over Lake Elsinore on Sunday as it made its way to a new home.

After making an initial flyover, the Martin Mars, a World War II-era seaplane with a 200-foot wingspan, landed smoothly on the lake.

Its Canadian owners will base it there for the next five months and use it to battle wildfires throughout Southern California under a contract with the U.S. Forest Service.

A huge aircraft, the Martin Mars firefighting seaplane makes its approach to Lake Elsinore on Sunday afternoon.
The plane can hold 7,200 gallons of water and will be used to drop water and gel directly onto flames in the hopes of beating back a wildfire in its early stages, aircraft owner Wayne Coulson said.

"Ultimately, we want to be a game changer," he said.

The plane left its home base in British Columbia, Canada, shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday morning and landed in Lake Elsinore about 4:20 p.m. Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents greeted the plane so its crew could clear customs.

Pilot John Debourcier said the airplane is ideal for fighting wildfires, easily maneuvering in mountainous terrain and will prove effective in Southern California.

The plane showed that in fighting fires in Canada, he said.

Besides, Debourcier said, quantity counts, and the Martin Mars' capacity is more than most other tankers.

The aircraft, with four 2,500-horsepower radial engines, was initially designed as a troop transport more than 60 years ago. But Coulson said the aircraft has the latest firefighting technology. Combined with a Sikorsky 76 helicopter, Coulson said his company has cutting-edge firefighting gear.

The helicopter has onboard cameras that can take infrared images of fires and e-mail them directly from the air to fire commanders on the ground -- even to a commander's Blackberry in the field, Coulson said.

"We are scientifically challenging the fire," he said.

Spectators on land and in their boats and personal watercraft gathered to watch the landing. Many snapped photos and cheered as the plane landed.

Ken Munsey, 54, of Temecula, said he had read about the airplane in the newspaper.

"I wanted to come out and take some photos," said Munsey, a battalion chief with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "It (the aircraft) is a rarity in Southern California."

Reach Duane W. Gang at 951-368-9547 or [e-mail]