Forest Service has aircraft set to start firefighting at night The U.S. Forest Service, in a major policy change prompted by the devastating 2009 Station fire, has a helicopter and fixed-wing plane ready to begin night operations to battle wildfires, federal lawmakers told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. Specially trained crews in a water-dropping helicopter and air-traffic control plane are expected to be ready to fight fires this week across the Los Angeles area, said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The Forest Service had banned nighttime aerial firefighting operations in the 1970s for safety and cost reasons, according to federal officials. But the agency decided to scrap that policy after reports by The Times and subsequent congressional inquiries into the tactics and strategies used by the Forest Service during the Station fire, the largest in Los Angeles County history. Two firefighters died in the blaze. The agency's new air-traffic control plane, which includes a fire commander who monitors blazes and helps coordinate air strikes, was used for the first time during the massive Powerhouse fire that is raging between Castaic and Lancaster, officials said. The plane worked with three helicopters from the Los Angeles county and city fire departments during repeated night assaults that began Friday and continued through Monday, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea said. He said the agency's night helicopter is undergoing final safety and administrative checks and should be ready this week. "We believe it will be an effective tool," Florea said. Fire officials said Tuesday that crews were continuing to make progress battling the Powerhouse blaze, which was 65% contained after burning through the Angeles National Forest and into the High Desert. The fire, which broke out Thursday afternoon, has charred more than 32,000 acres, destroyed at least six homes and damaged several others. Schiff and Feinstein said nighttime air operations are critical because of the potential for a devastating fire season. The National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates federal wildfire responses, forecasted "above normal potential for significant fire activity" in Southern California and other parched areas of the West. "Adding this capability will give us a better chance ... to protect residents' houses, precious natural resources and, most importantly, lives," Schiff said. "As California grows hotter and drier, we must make every effort to quickly contain wildfires, and nighttime aerial firefighting is a big part of that," Feinstein said. The Times reported that the Forest Service misjudged the threat posed by the Station fire the first day after it broke out in the Angeles National Forest. The agency reduced its attack that night and did not fill a commander's orders for a heavy air assault early the next morning. Experts have said a run of helicopters after dark might have helped contain the fire before it raged out of control. In a 2011 report, the General Accountability Office concluded the Forest Service failed to use all potentially available aircraft early in the Station fire and needed to develop a strategy to battle blazes at night. Other agencies, including the Los Angeles city and county fire departments, routinely use helicopters to make nighttime attacks during brush fires. Forest Service officials said pilots, crew and support staff began training for night operations in August. The team is based out of Fox Airfield in Lancaster. "The reintroduction of Forest Service night helicopter firefighting operations in Southern California further establishes the agency's commitment to protect lives and property in the region," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.