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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 17, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2004 Medford air tanker availability unresolved By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Whether a contracted air tanker will be allowed to fly out of Medford this summer to support Oregon Department of Forestry crews battling wildfires remains up in the air. The problem, explained Jeff Schwanke, forester in charge of ODF’s Southwest Oregon District, is that it’s unclear whether the use will be permitted, a decision that may require the approval of the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB. "We have yet to determine if we can even fly it down here," Schwanke said of the DC-6B tanker scheduled to be flown down from Alaska in mid- to late July. "We’re trying to get a clear understanding of that now," he added. "That may have to come from (the NTSB)." As the result of a NTSB report expressing concerns about the safety of the aging tanker fleet contracted by the U.S. Forest Service, the agency terminated contracts for 33 of the tankers on Monday. Between 1994 and 2002, three tankers crashed, killing seven crew members. The average age of the tankers is 48 years old. Advertisement To offset the grounding, Forest Service and Department of Interior officials said they plan to rely more on helicopters and military C-130s to fight fires on national forest land. ODF firefighters protect private, county, state and U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands. In addition to waiting for the NTSB to give the go-ahead on allowing the DC-6B to be flown to Medford, the state agency is also waiting for clarification of where it can be used, Schwanke said. "We still may have a ship but we don’t have an answer yet if we can use it," Schwanke said. However, Anne Jeffery, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho, said Tuesday that from the center’s perspective, it appears the ODF has the clearance to use the craft. "Where the ODF has the responsibility for fire protection, the assumption now is that it’s OK, as long as it has jurisdictional control," she said. She added that the center is waiting for a response from its legal counsel on that assumption. That jurisdictional control includes federal land beyond the BLM if a wildfire on that land is threatening land the ODF has the responsibility to protect, Schwanke said. If the DC-6B tanker doesn’t come through this year, the agency will rely on helicopters, although there will likely be a lot of competition for them, he said. While the fate of the air tanker remains up in the air, the local ODF district will have a full complement of firefighters and engines on the ground, he said. Last month, the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board earmarked $500,000 to pay for the ODF air tanker as well as helicopters to be deployed for the coming fire season. This will mark the second year the ODF air tanker, which is subcontracted from a Canadian firm, has been approved by the state board. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities