CAL FIRE to begin upgrades to Ramona air base next month
The upgrades, to be carried out over the next year, will allow the Ramona Air Attack Base to be home to a C-130H airtanker
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has announced that it will upgrade its air base in Ramona to accommodate a new C-130H air tanker.
Changes will include the demolition and reconstruction of the base’s aging tarmac and fire retardant reloading bays.
Work on the upgrades to the Ramona Air Attack Base will begin on 1 August, and will take between eight months and a year to complete.
During that time, the site will be out of operation, but CAL FIRE officials have announced several strategies to ensure continuity of service.
This will include using the Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base in Riverside County as a substitute fire retardant reloading facility, with Brown Field Municipal Airport also being activated during extended wildfires.
Initial attack aircraft dispatches will be “augmented” from two to four airtankers, and the two tankers currently assigned to Ramona will remain loaded and available if necessary, according to a report by the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.
It is hoped that the changes will not only allow the use of larger aircraft such as the C-130H from the site, but also enhance efficiency.
The base is currently home to one air attack plane and two S-2T airtankers. While that airtanker type can deliver 1,200gal of fire retardant per payload, a C-130H can deliver 4,000gal.
CAL FIRE recently deployed a new C-130H airtanker at Fresno Air Attack Base.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.