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Air Tanker Joins Station Fire Battle
Updated: Wednesday, 02 Sep 2009, 4:43 AM PDT
Published : Tuesday, 01 Sep 2009, 4:37 PM PDT
Posted by: Tony Spearman
Mount Wilson (myFOXla.com) - A giant amphibious air tanker has made a huge water drop on
flames on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles.
The World War II-era flying boat bombarded the peak Tuesday
to extinguish flames from a sprawling wildfire that could endanger
the historic Mount Wilson Observatory and adjacent TV, radio and
cell phone towers serving the region.
Firefighters have been working to protect the facilities, including setting backfires.
The tanker is one of a handful of Martin Mars seaplanes built for the Navy in World War II and now in use as firefighting aircraft.
The four-engine airplane with a 200-foot wingspan can scoop up more than 7,000 gallons of water from a lake or the ocean.
Watch the video of the tanker making the water drop in the video player.
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