Medford Airtanker Base Open House
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), U.S Forest Service (USFS) and Butler Aviation collaborated for the Medford Airtanker Base open house. For the first part of the morning on July 31 until noon, the base was open to the public to view aerial firefighting aircraft and talk with those involved with their use. With 325 attendees, the open house was a success and allowed residents to better understand how aerial firefighting is used to help firefighters put out wildfire.
The Medford Airtanker Base was originally built in the 1960’s and was remodeled in 2003. The base includes three loading pits plus room on the ramp to hold as many as nine aircraft. The facility supports retardant planes for Oregon and Northern California, and routinely pumps 0.5 million gallons of retardant each fire season. The base is mutually supported by Oregon Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and Jackson, Coos, Curry, Douglas, and Josephine counties.
Among the aircraft available for viewing was the DC- 7 passenger airtanker. Built in 1957, the plane was converted into an airtanker in 1973. The aircraft is contracted from Butler Aviation in Redmond, Ore. Onlookers were able to board the plane, talk to the pilot and learn about fire retardant. Water bottles full or retardant were used to demonstrate how the retardant is mixed and where it can be dropped.
A reconnaissance and aerial attack plane also participated in the event. The reconnaissance place is a small aircraft designed to fly slowly to search for fires, particularly after a lightning storm. An aerial attack plane can be used as an air traffic controller and provides tactical advice to firefighters who are on the ground as well as navigating the airtanker to the fire.
Both light and medium helicopters were present. Light helicopters can drop 70-gallon buckets of water in remote locations. The medium helicopters can drop up to 350-gallon buckets of water in remote locations. The water bucket was there to view along with an ODF Aviation and Investigation Forest Officer to answer questions. Children had fun sitting in the aircraft and having their picture taken in a flight suit and helmet.
Lastly, the Siskiyou Rappel Crew was at the event presenting rappelling videos, rappelling ropes and fire pictures.