One of two Mars owned by Couson Aviation of Port Alberni, B.C., the last of their kind, is being sent south on a private contract although no formal request was received from California officials through the Winnipeg-based Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

"They're still able to fill the orders they have with U.S. assets," Dave Okavay, the agency's aviation manager, said Tuesday.

The Second World War-era flying boat is being sent to the San Diego area.

The giant four-engine planes, originally designed as long-range troop and cargo carriers, are familiar but still awesome sights fighting wildfires in B.C. forests.

Coulson's Jim Messer said a crew to fuel and service the plane left Vancouver Island in two tractor-trailers Monday evening while another crew worked Tuesday to take the aircraft from partial winter storage to full operational status.

"It looks like we'll fly early (Wednesday) morning, say seven o'clock we'd depart British Columbia, and about 1 p.m. we'd be over San Diego," said Messer. "We'll have four hours of fuel available and we'll go straight to work."

Messer said the Mars is a versatile weapon against wildfires because it can pick up water on the fly and be back over a fire quickly.

"We scoop up 7,000 gallons (27,000 litres) in about 25 seconds and if there is water close by we can be back over the fire in as little as 10 minutes, so it's very different from a wheeled aircraft that must go back to an airport to be (reloaded)," he said.

A Quebec-based team flying two Canadair tankers is already in California battling the fires on an annual three-month winter contract.

In British Columbia, authorities are not waiting for an official call to get ready.

"What we're doing is take an inventory of both equipment and personnel that could be deployed with less than three days notice," said Forests Minister Rich Coleman, adding that no formal request for assistance has been made.

"In this case, I just wanted to be out ahead of the game," he said.

He estimated several hundred personnel may be available, including fire behaviour specialists as well as teams of highly trained firefighters ready to be dropped in to hot spots to assist fatigued American workers.

The call has also gone out to companies with special equipment.

ConAir, another B.C.-based company specializing in air tanker support, has already been approached by the Forests Ministry.

Company vice-president Rick Pedersen said they would have 10 to 12 airplanes available to fly south if needed.

Coleman also noted that deploying equipment and personnel to the United States would not be as big a deal as it appears, given the province's experience in January of sending firefighters and support to Australia.

"We moved them, hell, halfway across the world in that situation, and this particular case we only have to move them to California," he said.

"So we can react quickly if they need the help."