Aug. 8—RED BLUFF — The Red Bluff Municipal Airport has been a critical resource in the fight to contain the Park Fire.
The most significant ramp-up at the airport was 37 aircraft, which, according to Airport Manager Scott Miller, broke the previous record of 33 airships.
They have a temporary tower setup that controls aircraft entering and leaving because the helicopter is trying to find the most efficient, fastest route to respond to the incident and multiple loads underneath their ships.
"We want to ensure we keep a proper separation," Miller said.
General aviation at the airport is still open and continuing in conjunction with emergency responses. Miller described it as a dynamic situation.
"So the aircraft will come in and leave," he shared. "I think we have ramped down to about 15. That was our lowest at any point, and then it is back up. I think currently right about 25."
Miller commends Cal Fire and the other emergency agencies for this activation. He said they are utilizing many local resources for this. At the Red Bluff heli base alone, the airport has emergency command support, which provides trailers and other large-scale stuff to support the fire.
On a lighter note, AT&T has brought out some therapy dogs for the crews to help relieve some of the stress and help them unwind. Local community businesses like Ben's Truck Repair, Kevin's Donuts and Green Barn Whiskey Kitchen have donated their services to support the emergency crews.
Fire Chief Michael Bachmeyer shared that his department has an engine and three personnel out on heli base standby. Once the airport gets over a certain number of helicopters or ships on the station, they have to have an engine on standby while doing their operations in case of an incident at the heli base. RBFD has been doing this since around Saturday, July 27.
On Tuesday, the department had one engine, two division chiefs and three personnel helping in Mill Creek.
"They might be pretty busy right now as that is where the majority of the fire activity is," Bachmeyer said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Park Fire had grown to 422,927 acres and reached 34 percent containment. More than 6,625 personnel were assigned to the fire, which has become the fourth-largest fire in California's history. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings have been issued in Tehama County.
More information on the fire can be found through Cal Fire or the Watchduty app.
" Red Bluff has not been directly impacted by the Park Fire, but we know that there are thousands of personnel here in our area from around the state of California, helping to protect life, property, and our natural resources," City Manager Tom Westbrook said. "I just wanted to say thank you to all those personnel."
Originally Published: August 8, 2024 at 4:00 a.m.
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