They’ll be more air power available to fight wildfires in 2014 than in recent years. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho says up to 17 “exclusive use” air tankers will be placed strategically across the country, ready to deploy this wildfire season.
Dwindling in recent years, the U.S. Forest Service fleet fell from a high of around 40 planes in the early 2000s to only nine in 2013. The reason? A series of tanker crashes in 2002, and a significantly aging fleet.
“About eight of the air tankers that will be flying this year [2014] are what we call Legacy air tankers,” said Jennifer Jones with the National Interagency Fire Center. “The average age of those air tankers is over 50 years old. And as those air tankers age, the maintenance costs rise, and the safety risks rise. So we are very much mindful that we want to modernize our air tanker fleet.”
Currently there are 10 planes deployed across the country and an additional seven next generation aircraft should be ready soon. It’s taking longer than the agency expected to get those next gen planes into the fleet. “It’s proven to be a very difficult challenge to outfit a [next generation] plane that was built for a purpose other than serving as an air tanker with a retardant tank and also getting them through the FAA certifications and other requirements for them to fly safely and effectively,” Jones said.
Once the new turbine propelled air tankers pass inspection, they’ll fly faster and carry more retardant than older piston driven counterparts. Jones says depending on performance, the U.S. Forest Service plans on maintaining a fleet of 18-28 next generation planes.
From KUNC 91.5 Radio: https://kunc.org/post/forest-service-bolsters-tanker-fleet-ahead-wildfire-season