Further diversifying the operations at the Santa Maria Public Airport, officials are finalizing an agreement that will bring the U.S. Forest Service firefighting tanker base to the airfield.

Currently, the federal agency operates out of the Santa Barbara Airport, but a move to the North County is expected to improve response times and save money, Forest Service officials said.

The Forest Service hopes to have the operation moved by the start of the upcoming fire season, said Kathy Good, an agency spokeswoman.

The air attack base would consist of offices for two employees year-round, but that could grow to seven in fire season, depending on a given season's severity, Good said. An Aero Commander air attack ship, which is a small airplane, would be the only aircraft year-round at the facility, she added.

That plane is used is to detect fires and then direct ground forces, manage the air space above a fire and support the air tankers that are called in to drop fire retardant.

Additional P-3 air tankers would be brought in only to respond to a fire or in preparation for extreme fire conditions, Good said.

The P-3, designed by Lockheed Martin, has a wing span of about 100 feet and length of about 117 feet. Its maximum takeoff weight is 139,760 pounds.

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Meanwhile, a temporary facility is being planned for the base near Central Coast Jet Center on the south side of the airfield.

Bringing the Forest Service operation to the airport isn't free, but airport officials believe it will eventually pay for itself.

General Manager Gary Rice said it is expected to cost $500,000 to reinforce the pavement near the temporary facility to the necessary weight-bearing capacity.

He noted that the pavement, north of taxi lane L, is the original World War II military work that officials found couldn't support the weight of B-25 bombers. That problem eventually nixed Santa Maria as a B-25 base, making way instead for P-38 Lightning fighter planes.

Rice told the board while the Forest Service reviews the contract, he has authorized Bethel Engineering to go ahead with a pavement design that would support P-3 aircraft.

The rent charged to the Forest Service and income from fueling fees are expected to pay the airport's initial costs within about five to seven years, said airport Director Ted Eckert, who has been working on the details of the proposal. Once the project breaks even, those

payments will be an additional revenue stream for the airport.

“We looked at the community need, in a larger sense,” Eckert said. “Frankly we can offer a much faster turn around and even after we make some modest investment that will be required, it will be cheaper for everybody and provide us with a good financial return in the long run,” he said.

Though the airport will eventually be making money, the Forest Service expects significant savings by moving north.

By relocating, the agency's rent will drop from $50,000 annually in Santa Barbara to $18,000 annually in Santa Maria, Good said.

Response times to fires in the expansive Los Padres National Forest are also expected to improve, she added. Traffic conditions at the Santa Maria Public Airport , along with more favorable wind and weather conditions, will make it easier to fly out of SMX.

Eleven air tankers used the Santa Maria airport last fall to refuel with Central Coast Jet Center while fighting the Day Fire, which burned more than 162,000 acres.

Jim Kunkle, president of Central Coast Jet Center, said he has recently finished a lease agreement with the Forest Service for three office spaces at his facility to house their tanker base manager, air attack manager and a pilot lounge.

Kunkle said he has thought for years that Santa Maria would fill the Forest Service's needs.

While the tankers were at the airport, he said, he didn't receive any complaints about noise and therefore he doesn't expect any in the future.

Airport Board President Carl Engel and Eckert also said they didn't foresee noise being a problem with the new project.

The flights would be fairly infrequent, Eckert said, and the aircraft are not as loud as the Allegiant passenger jets that make three round-trips a week between Santa Maria and Las Vegas.

The Forest Service has the support of all the fire agencies in the county, Good said.

“Everyone is looking forward to the move,” she said.

Los Padres National Forest encompasses 2 million acres from Los Angeles County to the Carmel Valley. Los Padres Fire personnel are part of a larger group of agencies that combine and share resources for fighting fires and managing Forest Service lands, according to the agency Web site. In the summer months, during the height of fire season, more than 300 employees work in fire management.

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@santamariatimes.com.

February 2, 2007