Santa Paula Airport transformed into Cal Fire's 'helibase' to battle Thomas Fire
Mike HarrisMonday was just another routine day at Santa Paula Airport.
That all changed Monday night when the Thomas Fire broke out near Steckel Park.
By Tuesday morning, the airport had been transformed into Cal Fire’s base of operations for water-dropping helicopters battling the blaze, which as of Friday, had burned 132,000 acres, destroyed at least 439 structures and displaced about 87,043 people.
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“The fire started Monday night and Cal Fire was here Tuesday morning,” Rowena Mason, manager of the privately owned, publicly used airport, said Friday. “The airport is closed for all of our regular general-aviation operations. And we’re a Cal Fire ‘helibase’ for the foreseeable future until the fire is out.”
“It’s a huge operation,” she said, involving not only the helicopters, but also crews, tanker trucks and support equipment.
Cal Fire’s Tim Perkins, who is managing the helibase, said about 23 helicopters are operating out of the airport, including a number of private contractors who work with Cal Fire.
“We use this site for everything from logistics to refueling and just basic needs such as lunches and maps,” he said. “We do a briefing here every morning at 0700. All the guys who are working here get briefed on the operations and the priorities of the day to make sure we’re all on the same page. and then they get going.
“With the fire spreading from Santa Paula all the way up to Carpinteria and the Santa Barbara border, aircraft are launching out of here and supporting different priorities, water dropping in various areas,” he said.
At night, Mason said, the helicopters that have been in the air all day undergo maintenance at the airport.
She said the airport is happy to accommodate the firefighters’ helicopter operation, noting that the Thomas Fire is not the first time it has done so.
“Absolutely,” she said. “One of the key things that general-aviation airports do is provide support in emergencies. We’re here for the community. We’re happy to have the fire people here working and taking over our airport until the fire is put out.”
The airport is also helping out with the fire in other ways, she said.
“Our local animal shelter filled up one of our hangars with their cats,” she said. “We’ve evacuated people. I put a couple of families from town up for three nights in our crew room. Them and all of their kids and their dogs.
“We’re just happy to be here to support the community in any way we can,” Mason said.