海角大神

As large fires scorch vast tracts of land from Alaska to Colorado and Arkansas, the debate over the nation鈥檚 fire-fighting preparedness聽is also heating up.

The air tanker fleet tasked with the most dangerous mega-fire tasks 鈥� think dropping tons of fire-retardant into remote and steep canyons聽鈥� is under聽particular scrutiny. Pointing to the fleet鈥檚 decade-long decline聽from some 44 tankers in 2002 to nine at the start of the 2012 fire season, one critic is calling the current situation an 鈥渁ir tanker crisis.鈥�

However Tom Tidwell, chief of the US Forest Service, one of four federal agencies charged with tackling fires and the one responsible for deploying the air tankers anywhere in the country, maintains that the state of preparedness is good, because the air tankers are only part of the overall mix of fire-fighting resources.

Mr. Tidwell points to some 300 helicopters and small planes that are also used, noting that聽in the past decade, the mix聽has shifted, with more聽emphasis on the smaller craft. As a former firefighter, Tidwell says, 鈥渢he personnel on the ground really appreciate the helicopters because they can go places the large planes cannot.鈥�

Nonetheless, he notes that聽over the weekend, the聽service sealed a deal with the US military to聽deliver four tankers when needed. In addition, the Forest Service has assembled聽eight other plane contracts, including several with the聽Canadian government to bring the available tankers for this season to 21. Beyond that,聽he points to additional聽resources that have just been announced 鈥� a contract for seven total聽next-generation air tankers, three聽to be delivered聽by the聽end of this year.

But those numbers don鈥檛 tell the whole story 鈥� and they are too little, too late, says former wildland firefighter Bill Gabbert, founder of WildfireToday.com, a fire news blog. He points to numerous fatal crashes, two this year, attributable聽in part聽to aircraft age and metal fatigue.

鈥淓ight of the nine planes in the core fleet today date back to the Korean War聽era,鈥� he points out, adding,聽鈥淲e are in a crisis.鈥�

Tidwell suggests there is too much emphasis on the role of the air tanker in fire suppression, adding, 鈥渢here is this perception that tankers put out fires. But they don鈥檛. Firefighters put out fires.鈥�

However, notes Mr. Gabbert, the large tankers play a critical role in the initial attack on fires. 鈥淚f we had more tankers, we could avoid the tens of millions of dollars spent when small fires don鈥檛 get put out and they turn into mega-fires,鈥� he says.

A complex mix of changing weather patterns and human behavior means that the need for a more robust air-tanker response聽is not a temporary or merely seasonal spike, says William Sommers,聽a 30-year US Forest Service veteran who also served as its聽director of Forest Fire and Atmospheric Sciences Research.

Tactical aircraft can be used to help protect particular resources at risk, he notes, adding聽via e-mail, however, that 鈥渢he current fleet of aging aircraft is woefully聽inadequate in the face of increased climate- and fuels-driven fire regimes being experienced in many places around the globe 鈥� including the interior West of the US.鈥�

The current severe fire situation is just another instance in a building trend driven by large-scale climate change,聽fuel buildup聽 from years of fire suppressions, and drought, as well as increased home-building in previously wild areas, he notes.聽

鈥淭he only question from year to year is what particular area is going to be hardest hit and when will that occur,鈥� he adds.

Dominik Kulakowski, assistant professor of geography and biology at Clark University in聽Worcester, Mass., says that while resources may be adequate for fighting fires during more moderate climatic conditions, 鈥渢hey are insufficient for fighting fires during droughts that are as extreme as those we have been seeing in recent years.鈥澛�

More tankers and other resources would certainly be helpful for fighting fires, but given the enormous area of forests in the Western US that could potentially burn, he says, 鈥渨e should be thinking not only about how to extinguish fires after they start, but also how to address the underlying climatic conditions that are making these mega-fires possible.鈥�

Lamont Norman, wildfire risk expert at Pitney Bowes Software, points out that聽this year is bringing the issue home because there is a significant additional wildfire risk caused by a large number of dead pine trees.聽

Western foresters are managing over 41 million acres of dead trees caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation, he notes, adding via e-mail, 鈥渙ne of the reasons for this infestation is that years of wildfire suppression has caused growth of dense tree stands with weaker trees that cannot fight off the beetle.鈥�

鈥淭he massive tree kill and dead tree density has turned Western wildfires into potential big fire events that can burn for weeks.鈥�