A4 The BulleTin • Sunday, May 2, 2021
STATE & REGION
COVID-19 response
Largest firefighting plane may be sold
BY PATTY NIEBERG
Associated Press/Report for America
DENVER — As Western
states prepare for this year’s
wildfire season, the world’s
largest firefighting plane has
been grounded and could be
converted to help fight against
another crisis, the COVID-19
pandemic.
After investing tens of
millions into upgrading the
Global SuperTanker and its
technology, the revenue com-
ing mostly from contracts
with the U.S. government and
California did not produce
enough profit for the com-
pany to continue the funding
the tanker, said Roger Miller,
managing director at Alterna
Capital Partners LLC, the in-
vestment company that owns
the plane.
Alterna’s decision to ground
the SuperTanker was made on
April 19, according to the firm,
which had funded the plane’s
operations and upgrades since
2016. Since the announcement,
the Connecticut-based firm
has received several offers to
buy the SuperTanker and turn
it into a freight carrier aircraft,
Miller said.
“The COVID crisis has led
to a huge boom in the aircraft
freighter market flying around
PPE, flying around vaccines,
just all the stuff that you can’t
afford to put on a ship and wait
45 days to get,” Miller said.
The investment firm is open
to potential investors who want
to continue using the Super-
Tanker for wildfire response,
but if freight companies present
a more attractive offer, the firm
will sell it to them, Miller said.
In order for the SuperTanker
to be ready for the 2021 wild-
fire season, the plane would
have to undergo a federal cer-
Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP, file
A Boeing 747-400 Global SuperTanker drops half a load of its 19,400-gallon capacity during a ceremony at Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2016.
tification process by June, said
Dan Reese, president of Global
SuperTanker Services.
As the company weighs its
options, two Washington state
legislators sent a letter Tuesday
to U.S. Congress members in
Western states, urging them
to find a solution to continue
the SuperTanker’s operations,
which they described as the
“biggest and one of the best
weapons in battling the cata-
strophic fires.”
“Our time is limited,
through this week,” they wrote.
“A willing buyer, a group of
investors or government loan
guarantees is needed to step
up and help protect our liveli-
hoods, economy, and environ-
ment against this devastating
enemy.”
During the 2020 season,
there were 58,950 wildfires
that burned over 15,816 square
miles, according to the Na-
tional Interagency Fire Center
in Idaho.
The Global SuperTanker is
one of several Very Large Air-
tankers used to fight wildfires
from above by dropping fire
retardant and water. Water
is dropped on the fires, and
fire retardant is commonly
dropped next to or around the
fires as an extra line of defense.
Once the retardant dries, it de-
nies oxygen to the vegetation
to prevent the spread of fire.
But some fire experts, like
Andy Stahl, executive director
at Forest Service Employees
for Environmental Ethics, are
skeptical about the use of tank-
ers and retardants for wildfire
response because of the dan-
gers that aerial firefighting
poses, the specific environ-
mental factors needed to oper-
ate the tanker and the overall
expense of retardants.
Stahl said that fire retardant is
“used not at all or only incredi-
bly rarely” in the Midwest or on
the East Coast. Fire retardant,
he said, is a Western state phe-
nomena because there are more
federal lands and the U.S. Forest
Service has the money to spend
on retardants, which Stahl says
is “more expensive than drop-
ping Perrier out of airplanes.”
In 2020, the federal gov-
ernment and state agencies
dropped over 56 million gal-
lons of retardant, which costs
on average $3.10 per gallon, ac-
cording to the National Inter-
agency Fire Center.
“The retardant contracts
are very profitable for a small
group of very influential fire-
fighting companies and for the
bureaucracy that uses them.
The retardant is a wonderful
way of showing the concerned
public that were really trying
hard to protect their homes,”
Stahl said.
But Michael DeGrosky,
chief of the Protection Bureau
at Montana’s Department Of
Natural Resources and Con-
servation, said there is a time
and place for effective retar-
dant use.
“Like all tools, you need to
use the right tool in the right
situation,” DeGrosky said. “My
personal experience is that re-
tardant is most effective on ini-
tial attack. It can be used very
effectively when you’re trying
to guide a fire and draw it away
from homes and property.”
Other Very Large Airtankers
can carry up to 8,000 gallons of
fire retardant, according to the
U.S. Forest Service.
The Global SuperTanker can
dump up to 19,200 gallons of
water or flame retardant in six
seconds and fly as low as 200
feet above the ground to do its
work. It can be refilled in just
13 minutes.
Domestically, the Super-
Tanker has been used mostly
in California and in Oregon in
2018. Washington and Mon-
tana fire officials said the Su-
perTanker has not been used in
their states, so the elimination
of it will not affect their fire re-
sponse this season.
“There’s always the possibil-
ity that by having it unavailable
in California or Oregon where
it’s typically operated, you
know, that may put other pres-
sures on the system. Aircraft
we rely on might be committed
there, but we don’t see any di-
rect impact,” DeGrosky said of
Montana’s wildfire response.
Officials from Montana and
Washington said they would
ensure access to additional
planes and helicopters through
their state fire department’s
and regional and national con-
tracts for other aircrafts for the
upcoming season.
The SuperTanker has also
been deployed in Israel in
2016 and in Chile in 2017. The
company declined to say how
much the SuperTanker costs
per day.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY | BOBCAT TRAPPING
State board votes to strip deputy
of certification for ignoring rules
BY NOELLE CROMBIE
The Oregonian
The board of the state
agency that certifies police in
Oregon has voted to begin the
process of revoking the certifi-
cation of a Clackamas County
sheriff’s deputy who flouted
state wildlife rules.
The police policy commit-
tee of the Oregon Department
of Public Safety Standards and
Training earlier this year rec-
ommended the revocation of
Deputy Brian Lister’s certifi-
cation, saying he violated the
agency’s moral fitness standard
when he ignored state regula-
tions on trapping bobcats.
That recommendation was
affirmed Thursday by the
Board on Public Safety Stan-
dards and Training.
Linsay Hale, director of the
state agency’s professional stan-
dards division, said Lister is
entitled to due process rights,
which include the right to a
hearing before an adminis-
trative law judge. She said his
rights must be exhausted be-
fore the revocation takes effect.
She said Lister has requested
the hearing and that his cer-
tification will remain in good
standing through the process,
which can take months or years.
A spokesman for the Sher-
iff’s Office said Lister will re-
main on paid administrative
leave until a final determina-
tion has been made about his
certification. Lister was placed
on leave in February. His an-
nual salary is $80,802.
Lister’s lawyer, Anil Karia,
said the decision by the board
was frustrating. He said the
board failed to undertake an
independent review of the
matter and instead “appears to
have rubber-stamped the revo-
cation of Deputy Lister’s certi-
fications.” He said Lister has al-
ready received discipline from
the Sheriff’s Office in the form
of an unpaid suspension.
METOLIUS CLASSICS
FOREIGN & AMERICAN VINTAGE VEHICLES
s
er ’
h
t
o
!
F M als
OF rent
15% Day
Spoil her
this mothers day,
she deserves it!
METOLIUS CLASSICS is a new enterprise in Bend offering our community a great
selection of classic & vintage vehicles for sale and rentals for special occasions like
weddings, anniversaries, beer & wine tours, city tours, & shuttle services,
all with experienced drivers!
Call now for rates or stop by the showroom to view our sales & rental selections!
1052 SW Paiute Way • Bend, OR • 541-797-6807 • 808-372-6623 • 541-213-8454
Ameda Breast Pumps
Used by top healthcare institutions and millions
of mothers to provide the best nutrition for their
babies plus it’s covered by most insurance plans!
CALL TODAY FOR AN APPOINTMENT
541.383.8085
Our breast pump kit has the only FDA cleared and
proven viral and bacterial protection barrier.
Post-Mastectomy Care
Compression Bras, Hats, Wigs, & Breast Pumps
345 NE Norton Ave., Bend, OR 97701
mariposaoregon.com