Bill doubles USFS air tanker fleet
By Curtis Tate, Sacramento Bee
After a lengthy and destructive wildfire season in California, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., inserted language into a defense bill that will double the size of the U.S. Forest Service fleet of large air tankers.
Feinstein said that the amendment, which she cosponsored with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would transfer seven surplus HC-130H Hercules aircraft from the Coast Guard to the Forest Service. The planes can carry a combined 21,000 gallons of water or fire retardant, she said.
Feinstein and McCain included the language into the National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate approved the bill late Thursday on a vote of 84-15.
Well, this is going to upset the Pro 18th Century crowd. I can hear it now… “we don’t need any more stinkin’ gubment air tankers in California, we need more horses and buggies.”
This is extremely good news for all of us, regardless of which side of the state line, who live in an increasingly arid, rural area.
I just hope the money is sufficient to ensure that the aircraft are well maintained and airworthy. We don’t want any more fire fighters losing their lives because the wings come off an aging, and under inspected, C-130.
Just you wait, the liberal environmentalists will scream bloody murder over more airplanes flying around here.
If tankers would have hit the rim fire the first days we might not have had ash from one end of the lake to the other for a month. Much less air quality.
Buck unfortunately that is not true. If the fuel loading will support catastrophic fire and the fire weather is up around 90-95 percentile, and it was, then no human force can put out the fire. In those weather conditions either the fuel is there or not.
Just wait until the NAZI loving conservatives loose their trophy homes in the hills and scream bloody murder about lack of fire protection!
To Curtis Tate: What would you think of a plan that could already have 20 C-130 air tankers airborne by next fire season that are already retrofitted with bladders and would not cost millions to modify. Please look at Abigon.com and look at Operation Wildefire. Lets talk.
The plan actually won an award 15 years ago by the CA Forum on Public Policy.