The annual fly-in at the Durango air-tanker base Tuesday brought federal, state, local and tribal ground and aerial wildland firefighters together for a get-to-know-you session
The stars of the show were not people, but three aircraft that drop retardant on wildfires. They’ll be used in Southwest Colorado this summer, if needed and available.
The big guy was a U.S. Air Force Reserve four-engine turboprop C-130 from Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs. The C-130 can carry outsized loads, including 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in a self-contained Modular Airborne FireFighting System.
No time was wasted on the flight from Colorado Springs. The C-130 carried a dozen members of the 302nd Aeromedical Squadron at Peterson who simulated in-flight emergency care for fire-area evacuees.
The C-130, which flies about 150 feet above the ground when dropping retardant, can split its load according to on-the-ground requirements, said Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, one of the pilots.
The British Aerospace BAe-146 parked nearby also can carry 3,000 gallons of retardant. The plane is owned by Neptune Aviation and is under contract to the U.S. Forest Service.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, has “prepositioned” the BAe-146 in Durango, but it can go anywhere it is needed, said Craig French, manager of the air-tanker base.
Dwarfed by comparison, the third aircraft, an AT-802 Air Tractor, is known by its acronym, SEAT (single-engine air tanker). It can carry 800 gallons of retardant, pilot Andy Isaac said. The plane is owned by Aero Tech Inc. out of Clovis, N.M., and is under contract to the state of Colorado.
The Air Tractor also is prepositioned in Durango, French said. But unlike the BAe-146, it can fly missions only in the state.
Isaac, who got his private pilot’s license while in high school, is flying for the second year with Aero Tech. He is a relief pilot, moving from job to job to fill in for pilots who fly 12 days, then rest two.
Among those at the fly-in were 19 members of the Craig Interagency Hotshot Team, and representatives of the state of Colorado, the Los Pinos and Upper Pine River fire protection districts, the Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch Center, the Mesa Verde Helitack team, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Columbine Ranger District and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
The focus of the discussion this year is on dispatching and communicating between ground and air crews, air-tanker base manager French said. On-target retardant drops require close coordination, he said. In directing a retardant drop, French said, it’s not enough for the man on the ground to say, “I’m the guy in the yellow shirt and hard hat.”
Josh Levine, a D&SNG heavy-equipment operator and firefighter, listened attentively.
“It’s important for all of us to be on the same page in an emergency,” Levine said.
No major wildfires have occurred this season in Southwest Colorado, but fire officials are on the alert. Several minor lightning-caused blazes erupted Monday near Mancos, Dolores and Mesa Verde National Park.
The railroad is alert to fires along its route caused by embers from its coal-fired engines.
A topic that elicited discussion and questions was how much retardant drops cost, who pays and how to get reimbursement from the state.
Luke Odom with the state Division of Fire Prevention and Control explained briefly how the state Wildland Emergency Reimbursement Fund works.
daler@durangoherald.com
