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IRVINE, Calif. () — If a massive wildfire were to spark in Orange County, will there now be less of a firefight from the air?
That’s the question 7 On Your Side had after a crucial contract expired yesterday.
Now, the outgoing Orange County Fire Authority Chief and members of the Fire Authority Board are squabbling, with you the County residents, stuck in the middle.
The Quick Reaction Force, or QRF for short, is a joint helicopter firefighting program between Southern California Edison, LA and Ventura County Fire Departments, and the Orange County Fire Authority.
The three QRF helitankers can fly with three thousand gallons of water, allowing the team to douse fires, fast.
But outgoing Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy tells Seven On Your Side, “I am extremely disappointed that the Quick Reaction Force … ended on January 1, 2026.”
The Chief says the Orange County Fire Authority Board, which is made up of 25 leaders from across the OC where the department serves, never voted to approve a new QRF contract.
Fennessy’s last day as OCFA Chief is today, before he joins the US Department of the Interior
“OCFA staff and I worked to educate all new OCFA Board Directors on the program’s value in protecting life and property before an anticipated December Special Meeting,” Fennessy told 7 On Your Side.
“OCFA’s Board was unable to reach a quorum to hold the meeting.”
But Orange County Supervisor Donald Wagner, who is on the OCFA Board, has a completely different take.
“They never came to us and said, hey, how about you guys send in days that are available to you over this Christmas holiday, and we’ll pick the one that works for a majority,” said Supervisor Wagner.
“They never did any of that. The chief merely wrote memos saying, it’s all your fault as I walk out the door.”
Wagner told 7 that for months it hasn’t been clear what the Board’s financial responsibilities are yet for a new contract to keep operating the fire fighting Chinooks.
“It is absolute government ineptitude,” said Wagner.
“The chief has known about this thing for ages, and it is the chief who is looking to jam the board up. It is the chief who failed to ask us which days are available. It is Chief who allowed this to expire.”
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison says the QRF helicopters will still fly to Orange County to put out fires.
SCE added the choppers just won’t be operated anymore by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters.
Veteran firefighter T-J McGovern is now the OCFA Acting Chief.
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