Australia; NSW RFS sends 737 water bomber Marie Bashir to US to fight fires in America’s west

The enduring bond between Aussie and US firefighters will again be on display as Australia sends a water bomber and crews to combat fires raging across America’s west.

The sole 737 Large Air Tanker belonging to the NSW Rural Fire Service will take off on its long trip to the US in the early hours of Monday morning.

Daily Mail Australia understands teams of Aussie firefighters are also being assembled to fly out and assist their American counterparts. 

The show of solidarity comes just two years after three Americans lost their lives battling Australia’s Black Summer bushfires when their C-130 Hercules exploded into a fireball after it went down near Peak View in New South Wales.

The water bomber ‘Marie Bashir’ and its two pilots will make stops in America Samoa, Hawaii and Southern California before arriving at its operational base in the city of Boise located in the northwestern state of Idaho.

From there it will be up to American firefighters to decide where the aircraft will be best deployed with more than 60 out of control fires raging across various states.

‘We wish our crew all the best and our thoughts are with our US colleagues and the communities affected by these fires,’ the NSW RFS posted on social media.

The NSW RFS said the plane was being sent after a request by the Americans.

The NSW RFW water bomber Marie Bashir will be based in the city of Boise in the northwestern US state of Idaho

‘When that request comes through we take a look at all the options and the situation and the availability of our aircraft and personnel for that matter and if we are able to we certainly will look at those requests positively,’ a NSW RFS spokesperson said.

‘With the warmer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere being at opposite ends it does allow us to have that shared resource. 

The Marie Bashir, which has been operational in Australia since 2019 has seen action in the US and Canada during their previous fire seasons.

Flames consume a forest in Northern California with the fire having claimed at least four lives

The modified 747, which has all its passenger seats removed, can dump 15,100 litres of water, gel or fire retardant on a blaze in 2.2 seconds.

On the ground it can be refilled for action in 10 minutes. 

Water bombing, which sometimes occurs at only 45 metres above the ground, can be very dangerous especially in the unpredictable currents a fire generates.

This was underlined by the tragic deaths of Captain Ian McBeth, from Montana, First Officer Paul Hudson, from Arizona, and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr, from Florida, during the Australian bushfire crisis in January 2020.

Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr, a father-of-two from Florida, was one of the three American crew who died when their C-130 Hercules water bomber crashed fighting fires in Australia during the January summer of 2020

Gratitude for American help and sacrifice loomed large with those commenting on social media about the NSW RFS aircraft being sent to the US.

‘It’s nice to be able to give back after all the assistance we get from our American friends,’ one commentator wrote.

Another said it was ‘great to see the NSWRFS reciprocate and help their colleagues overseas in battling these fires.

The NSW RFS spokesperson said that the Australian crew were well prepared for their task. 

Firefighters work to contain the wildfire in Mariposa County in central California as the US faces a nightmare summer of drought and scorching temperatures

‘Generally speaking firefighting can be a dangerous operation but all our firefighters obviously go through a lot of training, whether they are on the fireground or for those who operated aircraft or heavy machinery,’ the spokesperson said.

‘Certainly there is risk but our firefighters are very well trained in the operations that they undertake.’

Drought and scorching summer heat have created a nightmare summer in the US with more than 60 huge blazes burning across 14 US states stretching US firefighters to the limit. 

At least four people have died in a forest fire that has ravaged California’s north leaving 22,702ha of scorched earth. 

A huge fire also threatened 2700 buildings near Yosemite National Park in central California

Fires in Alaska have consumed unprecedented vast swathes of land, while massive blazes have also broken out in Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Washington state, Arizona and Idaho.