Santa Maria Air Tanker Base reopens and returns to full operations to help fight recent wildfires
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Due to recent wildfire activity across Southern California the past two weeks, the Santa Maria Air Tanker Base has been reopened and is now providing vital aerial service in the ongoing firefighting efforts.
"Pre-January 9th the base was shut down," said Brian Sexton, Los Padres National Forest Unit Aviation Officer. "It was in winter mode. We just had the local normal staff that runs the base year round, so just a handful of folks pre-January 9th. "With the the advent of the Palisades and Eaton fires, we got a call to open up the Santa Maria Tanker Base."
The air tanker base is located at the southern end of Santa Maria Airport and is operated by the U.S. Forest Service. Just two weeks ago, it was quiet and
However, due to the unprecedented extreme fire weather that has helped fuel the deadly Los Angeles-area fires this month, the base is now buzzing with daily activity.
"It's been busy," said Alex Ihle, Los Padres National Forest Air Tactical Group Supervisor. "We've had upwards of 50 plus personnel here from pilots to additional, staffers at the retardant plant, to parking tenders and ramp personnel to help support the effort."
In addition to dozens of additional crew members who have been brought on board, several aircraft are now positioned at the base.
"Right now we're hosting three large air tankers be here at the base," said Sexton. "In addition, there are four scoopers. And then when they release the helicopters off the Hughes will probably reposition two Type 1 helicopters here as well."
The tanker base is also home to four retardant fueling pits, which are also now all open and ready to reload aircraft as quickly as possible.
"We have three pits on this side," said Sexton. "You can simultaneous load off of each pit, so they can load multiple tankers out of each pit. On the other side of the airport where we have another mixing station for retardant, they can load up to three tankers over there as well simultaneously."
It's unknown just how long the base will remain with current level of staffing. If extreme fire conditions persist, there's a good chance it may be for the long haul.
"It's undetermined," said Sexton. "Right now, we're trying to get a gauge of that from South Ops. I don't see them releasing anything for the foreseeable future. There is supposed to be another high pressure system behind this system that's coming through, so definitely not going to let our guard down. We're going to continue to have staff and there is a possibility depending on the weather that we could roll right into next fire season, so we're going to have resources till then."
