YOU know a fire is really serious when you see this plane thundering through the sky above you.
As California鈥檚 largest-ever wildfire continues to rage out of control, this converted Boeing 747 is dropping a scarlet mixture of water, retardant and suppressant onto the flames below.
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The Global SuperTanker can carry more than 70,000 litres of this mixture and release it in multiple drops. That is 16 times the capacity of the second-largest airtanker used by the state government. The Global SuperTanker has also helped combat wildfires in Israel and Chile since its creation in 2016, and this is its fifth deployment.
The Mendocino Complex Fire has scorched more than 120,000 hectares of land and continues to expand. Over 14,000 firefighters have been sent to combat it, but the dry and windy weather is impeding efforts to contain the fire. Officials say they expect to extinguish it by early September.
Photographer
Kent Porter, The Press Democrat
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎ir, water and fire鈥�
