[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H2530-H2531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S. FOREST SERVICE NEEDS TO ACT NOW
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago a P-3 Orion aircraft,
owned by Aero-Union, on contract to the U.S. Forest Service, crashed in
California. This crash in and of itself reduced the current Federal
fleet of nonmilitary, firefighting planes by 10 percent. It probably
also will lead to the grounding of the remaining nine Federal aircraft
currently available for firefighting in the United States. So here we
are, quickly approaching the fire season, and our Federal fleet of
civilian firefighting aircraft, which was 33 strong only 2 years ago,
will most likely be nonexistent this year.
Yes, we may have a few small crop dusters. We have some helicopters
available. But if the wind comes up and a major conflagration gets out
of control, our frontline firefighters will have no real backup. This
would be a calamity of death and destruction, made all the worse
because it is avoidable if we act now.
To have us become so defenseless is inexcusable. Not to take the
steps immediately to end this vulnerability would be even worse. So
what do we do?
Today I am calling on the leadership of the U.S. Forest Service and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take the steps necessary to
prevent a fire catastrophe later this year. Do not leave us helpless
and our firefighters vulnerable and unable to thwart a blaze for lack
of a large tanker aircraft which should be available. And do not tell
me that it cannot be done unless we have billions of dollars. The U.S.
Forest Service regulations establishing the requirements for airplane-
based firefighting are obviously designed to protect the good old boys
and to discourage anyone else with new approaches and new alternatives.
I am suggesting that the U.S. Forest Service drop its obstructionist
policies that have prevented, among other things, the use of foreign
firefighting aircraft to extinguish major fires in the United States.
Specifically, the Russians have invested a large amount of money in
large capacity firefighting air tankers. We wanted them to invest in
this. We wanted them to invest in these things rather than in military
hardware. Well, they invested and they can be anywhere in the United
States or yes, anywhere in the world, in less than 24 hours. They have
already played a significant role in extinguishing huge fires in
Australia, Greece, and elsewhere. Yet the U.S. Forest Service has
blocked the Russians from providing their services here, even as we
endured massive fire destruction in places like Florida, New Mexico,
and in California. This stonewalling and obstructionism has gone on for
10 years, even as our Federal firefighting air fleet deteriorated, and
even as lives, homes, and other property were being lost to out-of-
control fires.
This year there has been considerably more rainfall in southern
California than usual. It does not take a genius to predict that the
increased rainfall we have already experienced will result in a
proliferation of shrub growth, thereby increasing the danger of
wildfires later this year. In short, we face a fearsome wildfire
threat, and the U.S. Forest Service needs to act now, or we will have
no large capacity firefighting aircraft tankers available should the
worst occur. If we contract with the Russians who have large capacity
firefighting aircraft ready to go, we will save lives and property,
even if we do that as just a stop-gap measure until domestic aircraft
is built and can be introduced.
If the U.S. Forest Service does it right and does it right now, takes
the steps that are required for these Russian air tankers to assist us
in extinguishing a major wildfire and make those steps right now, we
can actually save lives and save property. But if they do not take
these steps now and we lose property senselessly, they will be held
accountable. If disaster strikes and people and animals die and
valuable property is destroyed as huge air tankers that could have
helped remain grounded and kept out of the fight, then those
responsible will be exposed for this incompetence. But that,
unfortunately, will not undo the damage or bring back a life that has
been lost.
It is time for the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest
Service to change its attitude, quit trying to protect a good-old-boy
network which is unable to function, and to permit others to get into
this business, including the Russians, who we would like to have invest
in this type of domestic, peaceful technology.
Mr. Jerry T. Williams,
Director, Fire and Aviation Management, Forest Service,
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Williams: Reference your 19 Aug 2004 letter, File
Code 5700. My staff examined your response to the questions
on the Air Tanker grounding by the Forest Service and the
possible role of the Russian IL-76 in fighting US wildfires.
Your response has raised some very interesting questions. The
recent news release saying that the Forest Service is
planning to contract for only 10 air tankers has added
urgency to our investigations. With the heavy rains in
California this last winter, the additional brush and timber
will create an extreme fire hazard here in Southern
California. A review of your Aerial Resource Bridge Plan for
2005 indicates that you are only going to contact for a
maximum of 20 heavy fire fighting aircraft instead of the 33
air tankers that have been available in the past. Your RFP
for heavy tankers has excluded the possibility of the use of
foreign aircraft such as the IL-76, the CL-215, and the CL-
415 to supplement the limited U.S. resources available due to
your grounding of the air tanker fleet. It is not clear that
the resources will be available to fight the fires if we have
a fire season as bad as we had several years ago.
I am requesting that you prepare a briefing for
presentation at my Huntington Beach office to set the stage
for discussions between your experts and myself in Washington
on the air tanker issues. The primary topic would be the FY
05 fire fighting plans with emphasis on the heavy air tanker
fleet. Particular emphasis should be given to discussion of
your modernization strategy and the role that newer aircraft
will be playing. Information on the civilian C-130 fleet that
is not included in your bridge plan should be included. Since
the military C-130's appear to play an important role in your
fire fighting plans, it is inconsistent that the civilian C-
130 fleet capabilities have been excluded in your recent RFP.
A detailed explanation of this action is requested.
The points of contact for this presentation are Dr. George
Kuck in my Huntington Beach office and Chris Minakowski on my
Washington staff. Before presenting me with the briefing in
Washington, please have your appropriate staff member travel
to Huntington Beach for a pre-briefing to Dr. Kuck
[[Page H2531]]
and discussions on your strategic overall plan.
Sincerely,
Dana Rohrabacher,
Member of Congress.
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