RED BLUFF – The Red Bluff Municipal Airport was critical in the fight against the Park Fire.

The largest influx at the airport was 37 aircraft, which beat the previous record of 33, according to airport manager Scott Miller. A makeshift tower is controlling incoming and outgoing aircraft as the helicopter tries to find the most efficient and fastest route to respond to the incident.

“We want to make sure we maintain appropriate separation,” Miller said.

General air traffic at the airport remains open and continues in conjunction with emergency response. Miller described the situation as dynamic.

“So the planes will come and go,” he said on Wednesday. “I think we’ve reduced the number to about 15. That was our lowest at any point, and then it goes back up. I think it’s about 25 right now.”

Miller praised Cal Fire and the other emergency services for this action. He said they utilized many local resources. At the Red Bluff heliport alone, the airport has emergency command support that provides trailers and other large equipment.

Fire Chief Michael Bachmeyer said his department has one fire truck and three people on standby for the heliport. Once the airport has a certain number of helicopters or ships on station, a fire truck must be kept on standby in case of an incident at the heliport while they continue their operations. The RBFD has been doing this since about Saturday, July 27.

On Tuesday, the department was deployed with one locomotive, two division leaders and three employees who helped in Mill Creek.

“They might be pretty busy right now because that’s where most of the fire activity is,” Bachmeyer said.

The Park Fire has grown to more than 428,744 acres and was 34% contained as of Friday. More than 6,625 firefighters have been assigned to the fire, which is the fourth largest in California history. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings have been issued in Tehama County.