On Wednesday afternoon first officer Henry Williams and his captain had a birds-eye view of the Crosho Fire as they dove through the rising clouds of smoke in a Canadair CL-415 aircraft with hopes of dousing the flames below them.

“This fire is in very high, hot country with some heavy fuels and with the winds that blow in the afternoons,” Williams said. “That intensifies the fire behavior, which makes it harder for ground crews to engage safely. I can’t speak personally to that, but I would just say that I would imagine that’s probably some of the challenges that they’re dealing with, as far as getting the fire contained.”

Williams was part of the crew operating one of two Canadair CL-415 aircraft — known as “Super Scoopers” — that are designed to scoop water from lakes or other bodies of water and then drop the payload on wildfires, repeatedly and rapidly.

“Our main goal is to support the firefighters on the ground. This aircraft is specifically designed for direct attack, and we are dropping directly on active flames, as opposed to building a fire line around the fire,” Williams said.

“How effective that is depends on the fuel type and the weather conditions at the time and how quickly we can make turns. With the Crosho Fire, for example, it is pretty ideal because we have Stagecoach Reservoir within 10 miles from the fire, so we’re able to make fairly quick turns on that fire, which leads to more effectiveness,” he added.

Devin Johnson, a marketing manager with Bridger Aerospace, said the “Super Scooper” holds 1,412 gallons of water, and takes about 10 seconds to take on a full load of water in a touch-and-go process.

Johnson said the aircraft is incredibly capable when it comes to wildland firefighting with high-lift wings that allow it to land on short runways. The aircraft can also maneuver well at low altitudes in mountainous terrain and was built to be safe to fly while fighting fires.

 “The Scoopers are actually the only purpose-built aircraft for wildland firefighting,” Johnson said. “A lot of other aircraft were refitted for aerial firefighting, but these were designed from the ground up. They put the tanks in the aircraft and essentially built a plane around them.”

The Crosho Fire started in Rio Blanco County Monday before spreading into southern Routt County and growing to 2,200 acres by Thursday evening. The scoopers are among several types of aircraft that have responded to the flames this week.

As the aircraft and more than 200 firefighters battle the blaze, residents and visitors this week have gathered on the shores of Stagecoach Reservoir to watch the muscular aircraft as they clear the walls of the dam and touch down to swallow thousands of gallons of water the crew hopes will dampen the blaze that is roaring a few miles away. 

The process is completed within seconds, and the aircraft quickly rises back into the air and heads back toward the threatening smoke column just minutes away. The aircraft can complete a lap in just 10 minutes. The planes refuel at Bob Adams Airport in Steamboat.