As wildfire fear rises, US tanker fleet incomplete. According to AP, With a vast area of the West primed for fires, federal foresters are preparing for the worst with a budget that might run dry & a fleet of air tankers that in some cases arent ready for takeoff. Ideal conditions for fire have been created & California is in a very dangerous situation: several years of stingy rainfall have turned forests & scrub into matchsticks & 10s of 1000s homes are near fire-prone areas. The photos are of Rancho Cucamonga (E of LA, population 165,000), where schools & homes were evacuated Wednesday. States from New Mexico through southern Oregon have experienced a lack of rain and slow, so could have trouble, also. The Forest Service used to have 40+ big tankers available but, at a low point last year, only had 8. bit.ly/1iTnba2
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 04:30:10 +0000