MISSOULA — As the worst fires in Los Angeles's history have burned at least 30,000 acres as of Thursday, Jan. 9, Missoula's own Neptune Aviation has aerial resources fighting the blaze.
Three of Neptune's planes have been dispatched in the southwest since May of last year with each firefighting jet carrying 3,000 gallons of retardant.
Neptune says their planes are ideal for mountainous steep terrain, and the turbulence-filled air associated with fire environments.
So far, through three days of work, Neptune has flown more than 38 missions and delivered over 114,000 gallons of retardant.
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The desire to help anywhere in need is what the firefighting aviation service prides itself on.
"Fire is what we do and it's something that we are prepared to support on a year-round basis. There really aren't fire seasons anymore. It's not untypical for us to be deployed in January," Vice President of Operations Nic Lynn told MTN.
"The vast majority of our employees are Montanans and live here in Missoula," Lynn continued. "And so to not only be able to support that mission here locally when it happens but also on a national and global scale, it's really important to us.
Neptune is sending a fourth plane to support fire suppression efforts in California early on Jan. 10.
