SuperTanker flies in to assist with Amazon firefighting operations
In response to the Brazil wildfires that are currently ravaging parts of the Amazon, on Thursday 23 August, California deployed a firefighting plane to help assist with fighting the wildfires in Bolivia's portion of the rainforest
The B747-400 SuperTanker aircraft is a converted Boeing 747 capable of dropping up to 19,000 gallons of water of fire retardant down onto the flames, and arrived in Bolivia to begin tackling the blaze on Friday. According to Facebook posts by Global SuperTanker Services, the Colorado-based company that owns the jet, the aircraft made around 10 trips across the weekend in its efforts to contain the flames.
Evo Morales, the Bolivian President, tweeted that he had hired a Boeing 747 SuperTanker to help the firefighting effort in the Chiquitania region. He added: "The SuperTanker and our helicopters work to put out the fire. I appreciate the efforts of so many compatriots, men and women, who work on this hard task. We face this battle against fire together."