Last Wednesday at the Durango Airtanker Base in Colorado, firefighters from a long list of agencies got familiar with one another’s aerial firefighting resources at Durango-La Plata County Airport. The base opened for the season on May 15, and will remain open through the end of September. San Juan National Forest staff showed up, along with firefighters from the Durango, Los Pinos, and Upper Pine Fire Protection Districts, plus the BLM, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Flight For Life, Durango-La Plata County Airport, BIA Ute Mountain Ute fire agency, and Mesa Verde Interagency Helitack.
The Durango Herald reported that the fly-in allowed firefighters to circulate briefing stations at each agency’s aircraft and vehicles around the base. The San Juan National Forest’s Lorena Williams said two SEAT airtankers will arrive at the base next week, and the state has a large airtanker on contract if needed.
Assistant Airtanker Base Manager Dave Hautamaki said the base can host five or six large airtankers. They sent us a nice video a couple years ago. Rick Freimuth also sent us photos and a description of the Safety Fly-In that occurred four years ago at Durango:
