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67 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 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 11, 2004 Firefighters await tanker’s fate Feds cancel contracts on 33 fire planes; local one may or may not be among them By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Safety concerns prompted the federal government Monday to cancel contracts for 33 private aging air tankers for the coming wildfire season, but local firefighters hope to keep their tanker flying out of Medford. The DC-6B air tanker that supports Oregon Department of Forestry crews here each summer is subcontracted from a Canadian firm through Alaska and possibly is not part of Monday’s decision by the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior, state foresters said. The federal decision, announced Monday through the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho, grounds private fixed-wing air tankers contracted for by the Forest Service and Interior Department. The planes drop chemical fire retardant considered a key first-strike tool used to quell blazes in their early stages. "It’s hard to be certain how all this is going to fall out," said Dan Thorpe, the state’s Medford Unit forester based in Central Point. "If Alaska will continue to fly their (air tanker), we’d expect it to fly on the lands we protect in Western Oregon." However, the federal Bureau of Land Management, an arm of the Interior Department, contracts with ODF to suppress fires on BLM lands, which are interspersed with private lands in Western Oregon. Advertisement Rose Davis, a NIFC spokeswoman, said a review will be conducted on whether the state-contracted air tankers can fly on fires located on BLM or state lands. "Hopefully, we’ll know something (today)," Davis said. Thorpe called the air tankers "crucial" in initial attacks on fires. Streams of red dust billow from their bellies onto flames or homes threatened by an encroaching fire. "Retardant planes in and of themselves aren’t the answer," Thorpe said. "But they can be valuable support to get a fire knocked back for the ground crews to get to it. "There’s always a ground war," he said. "You can’t win it just from the air." Monday’s announcement is the government’s response to a National Transportation Safety Board report April 23 on three fatal air tanker crashes in recent years. The report concludes that there is "no effective mechanism" to ensure the planes’ airworthiness, and that the Forest Service and Interior Department are responsible for their safety when under contract. With fire season on the horizon, the agencies had no time to address the safety issues themselves. "Safety is a core value of the firefighting community and it is non-negotiable," Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said in a prepared statement. "To continue to use these contract large air tankers when no mechanism exists to guarantee their airworthiness presents an unacceptable level of risk to the aviators, the firefighters on the ground and the communities we serve." In their places, the agencies hope to use large helicopters, helitankers, single-engine air tankers not criticized in the safety board report, and current military C-130 aircraft equipped with the "Modular Airborne Firefighting System" for firefighting, the NIFC reports. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [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