The cause of the crash is under investigation.

“We came on Monday and these airplanes will be here through the fire season,” Dave Kelly, a tanker pilot contracted to Cal Fire by DynCorp International, said Thursday on the flight line.

Firefighter Sarah Shore worked with Aviation Mechanic Butch Hall on cleaning one of the two S-2s. Each of the planes can carry up to 1,200 gallons of retardant.

“Fire season historically is through Oct. 15 but with the drought that’s been extending it out,” Kelly said. “We’ve had extra duty the past few years.”

Cal Fire’s priorities for the coming heat season include avoiding any repeat of the 2013 Rim Fire or the 2015 Butte Fire. Peak fire season is scheduled to begin June 20, said Chief Josh White of Cal Fire’s Tuolumne Calaveras Unit.

The ground crew can then take those co-ordinates and pinpoint the exact location of underground fires using GPS.

"The firefighters systematically go through and knock them off," Gorzeman said.

It's a one-two punch from the sky and the ground, allowing the crew to know for sure a fire is completely out so it can move on with confidence knowing a gust of air won't whip up the fire again.

Gorzeman says this is proven technology making a real difference in the way firefighters work in Canadian forests.

And, he said, calls in Papillion were drawing Omaha firefighters away from their duties in Omaha.

The automatic aid agreement stipulated that when residents of some areas called 911, they would get a response from the nearest emergency crew, regardless of which city they lived in.

Olsen noted that the cities still share a mutual aid agreement, where firefighters can ask for help from their counterparts in another city.