Washington Airport serves as regional base for tankers for wildfires

By Jeremy Burnham
Walla Walla Union Bulletin

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Walla Walla Regional Airport is doing its part to fight wildfires that have broken out in other parts of Oregon and Washington.

Several Bombardier Water Scooper aircraft were stationed at the airport during the summer and helped fight fires in the region.

Brandon Culley, a U.S. Forest Service aviation officer for the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, said the location of the Walla Walla Regional Airport is beneficial for firefighting in the northwest national forests.

“Walla Walla is sort of a semi-local hub for firefighting operations at the northern end of the national forest system,” Culley said. “Particularly in the Umatilla and Wallowa areas.”

Culley said between six and 12 aircraft used the regional airport throughout the summer, many of them for only short refueling stops, and that some pilots were stationed in Walla Walla for parts of the fire season.

He said the airport is used by several types of aircraft.

“This summer, pretty much everything we have under contract has come to Walla Walla and gone,” he said. “Including (two types of) helicopters … and the Super Scoopers.”

Culley said the firefighting aircraft were used on the lightning-sparked Wolf Fork Fire in Columbia County. That fire, now contained, has burned about 130 acres of grassland and forest about 10 miles southeast of Dayton, according to the Washington Wildfire Map.

“They (planes) need at least a mile of water to scoop up,” he said. “So they used the Snake River north of Dayton.”

Culley also said Walla Walla would be an ideal place to base some pilots.

He said that since Wednesday, August 14, a plane had been waiting in Walla Walla for its next assignment.

“Right now (Wednesday, Aug. 14), there’s a drop plane there just waiting to support the next (fire), wherever that might be in the area,” he said. “It’s just a central location that offers really good services and quick access to the amenities you need. The fuel, lodging and restaurants after deployment are great. There’s really quick access to the city for lodging and food. And you can get to all of Region 6, which is Oregon and Washington, really easily.”

Mike Moore, a fire officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said aircraft have flown to and from Walla Walla to fight fires in the Blue Mountains area, as well as six incidents in the Walla Walla and Pomeroy ranger districts and the Cougar Creek fire in Asotin County.

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