Firefighting Jet Contract Nixed Due To California Budget
VICTORVILLE, San Bernardino County (CBS / AP) -- Just as California's wildfire season begins, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has had to cut the contract for the nation's biggest firefighting jet.
The executive of a Victorville company that rents DC-10 supertankers told the Riverside Press-Enterprise Wednesday that the state canceled a three-year contract with his firm because of budget cuts.
The $7 million contract would keep a supertanker ready for takeoff. Rick Hatton of 10 Tanker Air Carrier said he'll put his two jets in storage soon.
The planes can carry 12,000 gallons of fire retardant — ten times more than state-owned planes.
Department spokeswoman Janet Upton said nobody's happy about the cancellation. She said the agency has already cut its engine crews from four people to three this season.
CalFire said that even with the cancellation of the DC-10 contract, the privately-owned tankers can still be called upon within 24 hours, but only if they are available.
"As long as it's available, it will still be sent to a fire during that same time period as it would have under the exclusive use," said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant. "It just means that there may be a chance it might not be in California."
Berlant said that if the tankers are not in California, the agency will have to rely on their other firefighting aircraft, helicopters and smaller planes. But those don't have anywhere near the capacity of the DC-10's.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
Rick Hatton, CEO of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, which owns the air tankers, said that without a contract with CalFire, they may go under.
"We were relying on California and they were relying on us," Hatton told CBS5.
Hatton also disputes claims that the tankers are less effective than other firefighting methods.
"That's a common reaction among people who have a bias towards spending that kind of money on something else," he said.
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