Sacramento Metro Fire gains new helicopter as fire season ramps up

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has a new firefighting tool. It's known as Metro Copter 3 and can drop 364 gallons of water on wildland fires.

Its hoist can also be used on search and rescue missions.

"We've used that hoist around Sacramento County several times when people are stuck in precarious spots," Metro Fire pilot Bryce Mitchell said.

Metro Fire is the only Northern California department to have its own water-dropping helicopters. They have had two Hueys in use for a number of years.

"We're already having a very busy start to this fire season," Mitchell said.

They were also used extensively during the 2022 floods.

Copter 3 now allows the department to fly two simultaneous missions while another copter is undergoing maintenance.

"That third aircraft really gives us consistency and reliability in that mission," Mitchell said.

This week, they are getting extra funding from the state to have two copters ready to fly.

"Due to the extreme heatwave, they've been able to activate an [Office of Emergency Services] response and allowed funding for us to be able to staff additional equipment," Mitchell said.

Each helicopter costs about $3 million, but Metro Fire got them for free as surplus from the federal government.

The new copter has a somewhat clandestine history. It was previously flown by the CIA in the Middle East.

"It was used and utilized by them for many years prior to us receiving it," Mitchell said.

Now, it's the newest edition to Metro Fire's flying fleet.

"On a personal level—being able to save homes, save property or livestock—that's a big deal for us and we're very proud in providing service we can," Mitchell said.

The department's first two copters were grounded for several months last year after a mid-flight malfunction caused a cargo door to fall off and hit a home .

Those aircraft have now been updated to prevent that from happening again.