Comments about ‘Military: C-130 tankers to resume firefighting’

Obama is playing politics with his firefighting measures.

Amazingly, the Obama administration refuses to contract for the Evergreen "Supertanker," a converted Boeing 747 that can carry many times the retardant carried by any of the other aircraft. This has proven itself in firefighting missions on three continents, so it is not some fantasy scheme for the future. It can be making drops on western fires in a few days at most.

The reason? Obama's cronies are clinging to a "small business set aside" for all firefighting aircraft contracts. They already have virtually every "small business owned" air tanker in the country under contract. But, they refuse to open their rules to go to a large business (like Evergreen) to get a much more capable aircraft that is desperately needed.

Using Air Guard C-130s is a good move, but only 8 of them have the necessary modifications to serve as tankers, and every fire mission flown is using up lifetime hours on the airframe at a time when replacement military aircraft funding is dropping to near zero.

@DN Subscriber

How close to the ground can a 747 fly to drop retardant into a canyon accurately? How long of a runway does a 747 need vs. the runway length a C-130 needs? What qualifies you as an expert in aircraft firefighting? Perhaps those with "boots on the ground" should make the determination as to what equipment they need?

Maybe it isn't a nefarious political decision. Maybe it is what is needed to fight these particular fires.

There sure seem to be a lot of armchair firefighters out there this year. Everyone seems to know more than the folks who have been fighting these fires for years. Let them do their job.