REGION: Supervisors OK plan to lease 3 planes

Firefighting aircraft could be here for wildfire season

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Tuesday, May 6, 2008 4:52 PM PDT ∞

After a lengthy discussion, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to spend $3 million to lease three firefighting airplanes during the fire-prone and windy Santa Ana season, which begins in August.

The plan was unveiled last month by Supervisors Ron Roberts and Bill Horn. It took the other supervisors and fire officials by surprise, prompting some on the board to ask a long list of questions at Tuesday's meeting, including who would manage the planes and where they would be stationed.

To answer those and other questions, the supervisors also voted to form a committee made up of fire officials to work out the details of the program.

Tuesday's vote allows county officials to begin negotiations with the owners of the airplanes. It also kicks off the planning process of identifying the suitable lakes and other bodies of water where the planes would be able to scoop up water to drop on fires.

Horn and Roberts urged the board to endorse the proposal because the planes, which are in high demand, could be leased to other governments.

"I think we need to grab these aircraft now," Horn said. "It's kind of like a garage sale; if you don't get there first and grab it, you are not going to get it."

Supervisor Greg Cox agreed, though he expressed reservations about how quickly the plan was announced to the board. He said there were "some very basic questions" that have not been answered.

"I'm not particularly enamored with the way this was brought forward," Cox said. "It's not the normal sequence of things that we go through. Having said that, I commend my colleagues for bringing this item forward. I understand it's very time sensitive. It's an opportunity that is here today and may not be there tomorrow."

Under the plan, county officials would lease two water-dropping planes, Canadian-built CL-415 Bombardier Superscoopers, from the government of Quebec for three months beginning in September.

A supervising aircraft, an Aero Commander 690, would be leased from Mountain Aviation, a private firm in Colorado, for 150 days beginning in August.

San Diego city Deputy fire Chief Brian Fennesy, who gave a presentation about the plan to the board, said the supervising aircraft was needed earlier to coordinate air-flight and safety plans with local, state and federal agencies.

Urging the board to endorse the plan, Horn said the three-month lease would make the planes available for the most fire-prone time of the year.

Eleven of the county's 14 worst fires in the last 10 years have occurred between the months of September and October, including two of the most destructive in the region's history, the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, Horn said.

The three planes would join a fleet of four firefighting helicopters in the region, two owned by the county and two owned by the city of San Diego.

Several groups representing firefighters, including the San Diego County Fire Chiefs Association, have endorsed the plan.

Augie Ghio, chief of the San Miguel Fire District and head of the San Diego County Fire Districts Association, told supervisors that while his organization supports the aircraft lease, there is more to be done to coordinate and increase fire resources in the region.

"We understand that this is an interim solution," Ghio said.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.