Tanker 910 was first used in July 2006 when it fought the Sawtooth Complex fire in San Bernardino County , California . While the fire was burning , Tanker 910 initially sat on the ground at Victorville , California as it had not received Cal Fire approval to operate . The mayor of Victorville , Mike Rothschild , became concerned and investigated why it was not flying , finding that the approval process was expected to take up to six months to complete . After a call to California State Senator George Runner , Cal Fire was able to complete the necessary training and paperwork in a matter of days , with the California certification being granted on July 15 , 2006 . The following day , July 16 , the aircraft made two drops on the Sawtooth fire , and Cal Fire personnel were reported to have said that " the two fire drops made a greater impact on containing the fire than the 12 helicopters drops for the past 10 days . " Later in the same month , the aircraft was used against several smaller California fires , as well as the Columbia Complex Fire in Washington . In September 2006 , Tanker 910 was activated by Cal Fire for use against the Day Fire , and the following month it flew against the Esperanza Fire
Esperanza Fire
Esperanza Fire
DC-10 Air Tanker