California Calls On Global SuperTanker To Fight Butte County Fire

After sitting on the sidelines for the first part of the western wildfire season, Global SuperTanker's modified 747-400 got back in the game last week after being called up by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The state exercised a call-when-needed contract last Wednesday to help fight a fire in Butte County, CA. The company said that the airplane made two drops of 8,500 gallons of fire retardant in the region.

But while the aircraft is helping in California, the U.S. Forest Service has still not officially approved the use of the plane despite its certification from the FAA obtained a year ago. The converted 747 has been used to fight fires in Chile and Israel, according to a report from CBS News.

Getting a contract from the Forest Service would allow state governments to be reimbursed by the federal government for the aircraft's use. The Forest Service limited its request for new air tankers to aircraft that could dispense 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of water or retardant, and the SuperTanker holds nearly four times that much.

Some critics say that the Forest Service is trying to control its budget by not approving the use of a plane that costs as much as $120,000 to operate. The Forest Service has not commented because of an official protest filed by Global SuperTanker CEO Jim Wheeler in June.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original Report, globalsupertanker.com