OC Sheriff's Helicopters Were Unable To Help With Coastal Fire: Report

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — A 2019 policy shift by the Orange County Sheriff's Department led to two of the agency's helicopters capable of dumping water sitting idle during the Coastal Fire in May, the Orange County Register reported.

Sheriff Don Barnes adopted the policy when he took over the department in January 2019, which required the agency to send its Huey aircraft for firefighting operations if invited. The policy led to the removal of the helicopters' $459,000 water tanks, each capable of dropping 7,000 gallons of water, the Register reported.

Orange County Fire Authority officials told the Register the agency did not request the helicopters because one was listed as under maintenance while the other had no pilot available.

The Coastal Fire scorched 200 acres in Laguna Niguel, destroying 20 homes and damaging 12 others. More than 900 households evacuated at the height of the blaze.

The fire's cause remains under investigation by the OCFA.

Visit the Orange County Register's website to read more about the Orange County Sheriff's Department's helicopters and the Coastal Fire.