Fighting Western wildfires: Does Forest Service have enough air power?

Christian Science Monitor: As large fires scorch vast tracts of land from Alaska to Colorado and Arkansas, the debate over the nation's fire-fighting preparedness is also heating up. The air tanker fleet tasked with the most dangerous mega-fire tasks – think dropping tons of fire-retardant into remote and steep canyons – is under particular scrutiny. Pointing to the fleet's decade-long decline from some 44 tankers in 2002 to nine at the start of the 2012 fire season, one critic is calling the current situation an "air tanker...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0625/Fighting-Western-wildfires-Does-Forest-Service-have-enough-air-power-video
Enclosure: http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/0625-wildfires-colorado-fighting-forest-service/12959258-1-eng-US/0625-wildfires-colorado-fighting-forest-service_full_380.jpg