Colorado Senator Mark Udall delivered a letter to the US Forest Service Chief Thursday expressing his concerns about whether the agency’s aging air tanker fleet is capable of keeping the state safe during a potentially dangerous fire season. The Senator is unconvinced the current fleet is adequate.
The US Forest Service relies on an aging fleet of large, heavy air tankers to fight fires and protect structures and homes. But the fleet is dwindling, and the agency is scrambling to replace it.
March’s hot and dry weather has put 98 percent of the state in varying levels of drought. Some of the worst areas right now are in the Arkansas Basin—central and south Colorado—in addition to the northwestern part of the state. KUNC’s Grace Hood sat down with state climatologist Nolan Doesken to find out how we got here, and where the state might be headed in April.
