Fire officials are giving air support a lot of credit for helping get the Rock Farm Fire under control.
"We had quite a bit of an airshow here with very large aircraft tankers and other aircraft that helped us keep the fire in check," said Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Charles Moore.
Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue says aircraft helping with the Rock Farm Fire, made a difference. Traditionally when fire crews arrive at a wildfire, the incident commander on the ground estimates what equipment is needed.
"They'll launch an air attack. An air attack is essentially an incident commander in the sky if you will. They are in charge of coordinating where all the aircraft are going and what they are doing," said Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue Division Chief August Isernhagen.
Air support for fire crews in the area are primarily kept at local airports in Minden and Stead. When it comes to the larger air tankers, those have to be assigned by a national agency. "Yesterday we had structures threatened, we were losing structures. We had a high chance of growth. So we got bumped up in priority," said Isernhagen.
There is a drawback of having air tankers help with fires. "They're so big that when they come in, the other aircraft have to leave the area until they do their drop," said Isernhagen.
The air tankers also bring a big benefit. "I don't remember how many thousands of gallons of retardant the DC-10 has. But they show up with a ton of retardant," said Isernhagen.
Truckee Meadows Fire says it's clear in this case the extra air support paid off. "If we hadn't got that help, it is possible that fire could have burned down into Arrow Creek subdivision, and we could have lost houses down there," said Isernhagen.
