October 25, 2007
BLM Keeping Same Fire Season Aircraft in 2008

By Dave Maxwell

A nationwide BLM proposal for 2008 to redistribute fire-fighting resources in an effort to provide better protection for next fire season, at least locally, is not going to happen. And that’s actually a good thing.

Speaking to the County Commissioners last week, BLM Ely Field Office Public Affairs officer Chris Hanefeld explained about what had been potential changes for the type and amount of aircraft available to eastern Nevada in 2008.

The district will continue to use the Type III helicopters, he said, instead of the larger Type II, and at the same time will be able to keep the same resources that were used this past year.

Hanefeld reported that the concept of the new BLM proposal in eastern Nevada would have been that the Type III helicopters in Ely would be reassigned and replaced with the larger Type II copters, but stationed in Las Vegas.

“However, the plan never really got very far,” he said and is not going to happen at all. Therefore, the Type II helicopters will stay in Las Vegas and Ely is going to keep their Type IIIs.

Hanefeld said BLM found they “didn’t have all the equipment we were looking to on a nationwide scale to make those changes, so the 2008 fire season will begin here with the same resources we had last year.”