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Tanker base closure means loss to valley Region stands to lose more than $2 million per year if Forest Service moves base By PETER WONG On the eve of a rally to keep it here, a new estimate puts potential economic losses from closing Medford's air tanker base at $2 million to $2.5 million. Prompted by Jackson County Commissioner Jack Walker and other local officials, the rally is scheduled at 5 p.m. today at Jet Center North, 5000 Cirrus Drive, at the north end of the Medford airport. "Commissioner Walker asked me to come up with some feel for what the economic effect (of a closure) is on this community," said Gordon Safley, executive director of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc. "My best guess is that it points to between $2 million and $2.5 million annually." U.S. Forest Service officials announced last week they have held off a decision about whether to move the air tanker base from Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport to Klamath Falls. They said they want to let officials in Jackson County make a case for keeping a base here. Safley said his economic estimate is drawn largely from assumptions, including 2.5 full-time employees and 50 days for each of 50 seasonal employees when flights are staged from Medford. In addition to payroll and its multiplier effect on the local economy, he said, he figured in lodging costs and other daily expenses. He said the estimate did not include purchases of goods, aircraft parts and fuel, and services. "I could not get exact figures about salaries, and I had no way of getting a handle on some of the additional factors," he said. Since the early 1950s, air tankers have flown from Medford to drop fire retardant to control forest fires. Other bases used in Southern Oregon and northern California forest fires are in Klamath Falls, Redmond and Redding, Calif. Faced with dwindling budgets, Forest Service officials have been looking to consolidate bases before buying bigger and faster air tankers. They have said a move to Klamath Falls would save about $900,000 annually, allow takeoffs from an elevation of 4,000 feet and avoid potential interference with future population and air traffic growth in Medford. Walker has said flights from Medford can carry more retardant, and that handling heavier planes is part of the justification for extending Medford's runway. The Medford airport is run by the Jackson County Airport Authority. Safley also said he excluded costs such as the annual rental of $50,000 that the Forest Service pays Jackson County. "That means a couple of people on our payroll," said airport director Bern Case. "When you start putting it on an annual basis, it becomes significant to us." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA