DC-10 Firefighter Attacks Forest

The DC-10 air tanker, unveiled with much fanfare by California fire officials last year as the first firefighting jet of its kind, ran into severe turbulence over Kern County late Monday afternoon and dropped toward the ground before its pilots were able to power out of the descent. Tanker 910 was being used to drop its 12,000 gallons of fire retardant over a large blaze along San Joaquin Valley's southern edge when it hit a downdraft and plowed through the upper foliage of a forested area. It was being used as the primary attack upon a blaze dubbed the White Fire, which had burned through 9,300 acres of brush about 80 miles north of Los Angeles. The state Department of Forestry had signed a three-year, $15 million contract for use of the jet, which is capable of dropping either water or fire retardant. It can create a three-quarter mile fire line in eight seconds. No one was injured in the near-miss incident, and the crew returned to its base in Victorville, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Damage is being assessed.