They will be based here until trees get leaves. Right now risk of brush and forest fires very high. They’ve had a busy year already. Some days running all day. Fun to watch. They taxi into the tanker area and fill up without even shutting down then right back up.Firebombers? I'll be darned. I've never seen them configured for firefighting.
They also purpose build them for fire-fighting. These aircraft have replaced a number of first attack helicopters due to cost and work very well. The amphibs allow the aircraft to self-fill.I've never seen them configured for firefighting.
My kids when they were younger kept calling them dusty when we would hang out at hangar and watch them work.