The Missouilan has some thoughts on the folly of the USDA tanker decision —
Well, it didn’t take long to demonstrate the folly of the Forest Service’s decision this month to fight wildfires without all the right tools.
In southern New Mexico, the Captain fire is burning more than 23,000 acres and has sent dozens of homeowners fleeing. “I was shocked to be told this fire could have been held to a single acre if the heavy air tankers had been available at the beginning,” New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
But, of course, air tankers weren’t available at the beginning. And it doesn’t look as though they’re going to be available at the beginning of the next fire, or the ones after that. The Forest Service terminated all its contracts for 33 of the big planes earlier this month, citing safety concerns springing from the crash of two Wyoming-based tankers two years ago.
*****The decision seems to have far more to do with limiting Forest Service exposure to possible lawsuits than with ensuring safety. Whatever reduction of risk gained by grounding the tankers surely will be offset by increased danger to firefighters and people living in the path of wildfires.
There is no evidence that the tanker aircraft that have been grounded are anything but safe. What we already have is a fire raging out of control in New Mexico that might have been stopped in its tracks with the use of large tankers. Something tells us this summer will produce many such examples.