It refills in 5 minutes: Mammoth new ‘dip tank’ will aid air battles against wildfires

Firefighters need all the help they can get and every minute counts when faced with a catastrophe like the Palisades and Eaton fires that caused mass devastation in January.

Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopters have the capability to fill a 1,000-gallon tank with water from a “dip tank” and within minutes use it to combat a nearby fire.

Metropolitan Water District unveiled the new helicopter dip tank on Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Rolling Hills Estates.

The nearly 4,000-gallon tank at the Palos Verdes Reservoir, part of the Metropolitan’s water delivery system, can be refilled in five minutes. The Los Angeles County Fire Department gave aerial demonstrations at the unveiling on Wednesday.

Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Debby Stegura said they were “celebrating yet another step forward” in “wildfire preparedness and protecting the safety of our communities.”

Stegura added that the dip tank is a “crucial resource for not only for our community,” but also for the “entire region.”

Brian Kane, assistant fire chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said “When livelihoods are threatened every second counts” and the dip tank “provide our pilots and firefighters a critical water source to combat wildfires.”

“This tank also refreshes in fourand a half minutes to be ready for the next helicopter to refill without having to stop and land,” Kane said at the event. “This tank reduces the time it takes for our helicopters to fill up their water tanks, which means our crews can drop more water faster.”

After the demonstration, firefighter paramedic Jesse Golden said the helicopter holds around 1,000 gallons and takes about one minute to fill its tank.

Golden said the helicopter’s tank is not filled completely at the beginning of the mission because they have too much fuel.

“As the fire goes on, we’ll take more water,’ said Golden, as the fuel burns and the chopper’s load lightens.

In June 2023, Los Angeles Country Fire Department and the California Water Service unveiled a HeloPod firefighting dip source and cistern at the Ken Dyda Civic Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.

“We’re really happy to have one on the eastern side of the Peninsula,” Stegura said.

The Palos Verdes Reservoir project cost nearly $900,000 for design and construction, according to Metropolitan.

Metropolitan’s first helicopter dip tank was unveiled earlier this month at the Robert B. Diemer Water Treatment Plant in Yorba Linda, according to a press release.

“These facilities are part of Metropolitan’s efforts to plan for and adapt to climate change and the increasing threat of wildfire,” read the press release.

The Peninsula is an elevated fire-threat area, but has not faces a serious wildfire in recent years.