RED BLUFF – The Red Bluff Municipal Airport was critical in the fight against the Park Fire.
The most significant increase at the airport was the number of 37 aircraft, which, according to airport manager Scott Miller, surpassed the previous record of 33 airships.
They have a makeshift tower controlling the in and out of aircraft as the helicopter attempts to find the most efficient and fastest route to respond to the incident and the multiple cargoes beneath their ships.
“We want to make sure we maintain appropriate separation,” Miller said.
George Johnston/Daily News
The smoke cloud from the park fire on Tuesday evening. (George Johnston/Daily News)
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. “I think we’ve got it down 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 agencies for this action. He said they are using a lot of local resources to do this. At the Red Bluff helicopter base alone, there is an emergency command support that provides trailers and other large equipment to assist the fire department.
AT&T has also provided therapy dogs to rescue crews to help them de-stress and relax. Local businesses like Ben’s Truck Repair, Kevin’s Donuts and Green Barn Whiskey Kitchen have donated their services to support rescue crews.
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.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Park Fire had grown to 422,927 acres and was 34 percent contained. More than 6,625 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, making it the fourth largest fire in California history. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings were issued in Tehama County.
For more information about the fire, contact Cal Fire or use the Watchduty app.
“Red Bluff was not directly affected by the Park Fire, but we know that there are thousands of employees from across the state of California working here in our area to protect lives, property and our natural resources,” said City Manager Tom Westbrook. “I just wanted to thank all of those employees.”
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