By Peter Hegarty
The Contra Costa Times
Visitors to the USS Hornet museum at Alameda Point will get a chance to meet some of the pilots who battle the state’s deadly wildfires as part of a new exhibit aboard the aircraft carrier.
The idea behind “Aerial Firefighting in California,” which will open next month, is to showcase the links between the firefighters and the U.S. Navy.
The Navy once owned many of the tankers and other aircraft used to fight the blazes, for instance, while a large number of former Navy aviators also now work to control the fires, according to the museum’s Bob Fish.
Already permanently displayed aboard the Hornet is a TBM Avenger that was used for firefighting at the end of its career, along with a US2B Tracker similar to those currently used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In 2007 alone, the state agency responded to 7,605 fires, which devastated 371,000 acres.
Its aircraft operate from 14 bases scattered across California and can reach most fires within just 20 minutes.
The new exhibit will join other displays already aboard the USS Hornet, including ones that celebrate the role that the vintage aircraft carrier played during World War II and in the Apollo moon landings.
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