New Colorado Springs air tanker base expected to open in 2022

It will have seven retardant loading pits and can service very large air tankers.

airtanker base office building
Concept image of what the Colorado Springs airtanker base office building will look like when complete. Forest Service photo.

Contractors are making progress on the new air tanker base at the Colorado Springs airport. The new eight-acre ramp near the airport’s main 13,500-foot runway is complete and the framework is in place for the office building.

The Forest Service is now saying the base should be operational for the 2022 fire year, which is about a year behind schedule. In January, 2020, construction was scheduled for the following summer, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony expected in 2021.

airtanker base office building is under construction at Colorado Springs
The framework for the airtanker base office building is under construction at Colorado Springs. Forest Service photo.

On January 24, 2020 the Forest Service signed a lease agreement with the Colorado Springs Airport. The two agencies will share the costs for construction and maintenance, budgeted at approximately $20 million.

The base will feature six reload pits for large air tankers, and one pit for Very Large Air Tankers such as the DC-10 and 747. It will be the largest base in the region. The Forest service claims it will have the ability to serve a 600-mile radius, which might almost be realistic for the very large air tankers that can cruise at more than 540 miles an hour.

Colorado Springs airport, 600-mile radius map
Colorado Springs airport, 600-mile radius map.

The base will have the ability to reload multiple air tankers at once. By being able to service aircraft of all sizes and capabilities, the base will also reduce the total number of flights needed to fight a wildfire in the area, reducing the risk to additional flight crews.

During the winter months when the Forest Service is not using the ramp, the airport will use it as a de-icing area for commercial aircraft.

slab foundation for the retardant mix plant
The slab foundation for the retardant mix plant is complete at Colorado Springs. Forest Service photo.

The Forest Service has occasionally activated a temporary retardant base at the Colorado Springs Airport that had two pits and parking for six aircraft. JEFFCO tanker base at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport northwest of Denver has two pits but can fill only one air tanker at a time and neither base can handle Very Large Air Tankers.

Vanessa Lacayo, the Acting Press Officer for the Forest Service  Rocky Mountain Region, told Fire Aviation in 2020 that the agency has no plans to close any other bases, including Single Engine Air Tanker Bases, after opening this new facility at Colorado Springs.

The Air Force Reserve base at Colorado Springs airport can activate two C-130 aircraft to serve as air tankers if needed, using the slip-in Modular Airborne FireFighting System, or MAFFS.

Congress awarded the Forest Service funding for the project as part of the 2018 Omnibus Bill that repurposed previous allocations to the agency’s Aviation Safety and Modernization Strategy. The Department of Agriculture prioritized the Colorado Springs Airtanker Base as one of the highest investments for Aviation Safety Modernization Projects, representing nearly one-fourth of the $37.2 million budget. The City of Colorado Springs is providing additional funding through a partnership agreement.

In July it was announced that the air tanker base at Grand Junction in western Colorado will be receiving a $6.1 million upgrade to replace facilities at the Air Center complex at the airport, which is the dispatch and air tanker base at the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.

Grand Junction Air Center complex
A retardant loading pit at the Grand Junction Air Center complex, May 10, 2017. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The improvements at the multi-purpose wildland fire management and operations center will eliminate safety hazards by replacing multiple structurally deficient buildings with a single cost-effective building. Additional structural repairs to the tanker base concrete apron pavement will correct multiple deficiencies and bring the apron into compliance with Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to LM.

Two C-130 MAFFS air tankers relieved by another pair

MAFFS C-130
MAFFS C-130 training in Boise April 21, 2017. Photo by Bill Gabbert

After a week on the job the two California National Guard C-130 MAFFS air tankers that were activated on July 22 are being relieved as scheduled and will return to the 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands in southern California.

A Herc from Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing “High Rollers” deployed July 29 to Sacramento McClellan Airport. It will be joined by one from the Air Force Reserve’s 302 Airlift Wing out of Peterson Air Force Base at Colorado Springs.

The military C-130s use the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) which can deliver up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant. The system slides into the back of the aircraft and retardant is sprayed under pressure through a nozzle in a modified troop door on the left side. MAFFS aircraft can be activated to supplement the civilian airtanker program to slow the spread of wildland fires.

fire wildfire Nevada Air National Guard C-130 MAFFS
A C-130 from Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing “High Rollers” during training in Boise April 20, 2020. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

Colorado signs a P-3 Orion air tanker on an exclusive use contract

air tanker 23 p-3
Air Tanker 23, a P-3, drops retardant on the Swedes Fire southeast of Oroville, California. Photo by John Kerpa and Gary Thomas, 2019.

The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) has made it official — they have signed Air Tanker 23, a P-3 Orion operated by Airstrike, to a 75-day exclusive use (EU) contract. The choice of the aircraft came as no surprise since it was already under a call when needed arrangement with the state.

The agency announced in early June that they were going to contract for an EU air tanker, but were cagey about which one. This is the first time the state has hired an EU large air tanker.

Colorado has not specified where it will spend the majority of its time, but it may move around as needed. There are five air tanker bases in Colorado that can support large air tankers: Durango, Grand Junction, Jeffco, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs which was just converted to a permanent base. The grand opening for the facility was June 15, 2020. Colorado Springs is the only permanent base in Colorado that can officially support very large air tankers. DC-10s worked out of Pueblo for at least 2013 through 2016, perhaps longer, but the 2019 Air Tanker Base Directory does not list Pueblo as a VLAT base.

Below is an excerpt from a press release issued by the DFPC:


“We have activated the P-3 airtanker for 75 days of dedicated availability. This will provide another highly capable initial attack resource to be utilized in the State and the region,” said Vince Welbaum, Aviation Unit Chief for the State of Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. “The P-3 is a proven aerial asset that can operate efficiently in our high-altitude and high-temperature conditions, and is also an excellent value for the Colorado taxpayer.”

“The design of the aircraft including four engine turbo-prop, ability to safely fly low and slow, carry full loads of retardant and ample fuel are distinct features that the State of Colorado requires to be effective for wildland firefighting,” said Welbaum. “We are excited to include the Airstrike P-3 in our arsenal of resources when large dangerous wildfires threaten life and property in the State.” One additional airtanker is also being made available to the State on a call-when-needed (CWN) basis to ensure the State has adequate access to emergency resources when they are needed most.

Scott Schorzman, Vice President of Airstrike Firefighters is quoted as saying “We are excited to bring the P-3 airtanker to the State of Colorado and do what we do best, fight fire from the air. The P-3 is the perfect aerial firefighting platform for the State of Colorado, and we intend to demonstrate its efficiency and cost effectiveness. This is another step forward in strengthening our long-term partnership with the State and to participate in its growing fleet of aerial wildfire assets.”

Airstrike is an Anchorage, AK-headquartered company with operations in Sacramento, CA.  Airstrike has 30 employees that are refurbishing a fleet of seven P-3 firefighting airtankers for use on State and Federal contracts.

Temporary VLAT retardant base established at Colorado Springs

Above: MAFFS #2 reloads at the new temporary retardant base at the Colorado Springs Airport. Screen grab from the video below.

A new temporary fire retardant base has been set up at the Colorado Springs Airport. A spokesperson for the airport told us that it can handle Very Large Air Tankers such as the DC-10 and 747. In the video below one of the DC-10’s can be seen in the background.

This is part of a joint effort between the Colorado Springs Airport, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Fort Carson to provide a reload facility in the area.