Right now, when conditions warrant, the Texas A&M Forest Service activates a wildfire tanker base at Abilene Regional Airport, putting pilots and equipment on standby to respond to any wildfires that break out. But thanks to a $20 million slice of the state’s budget, Abilene will build a longer ramp and permanent facilities for crew.
Abilene Regional Airport has just two passenger gates, and Abilene’s Director of Aviation Don Green says that’s a significant plus for the wildfire aircrews, “That has been a concern of the Forest Service at other airports is where do they fit in in that traffic flow when you’ve got so many airline aircraft in and out all day long and getting their aircraft as a priority to get them in and out. So it works very well here.”
While local officials see it as a huge win for Abilene. They say the benefits will reach anyone facing a wildfire in Texas and beyond. State Representative Stan Lambert, says when he recently visited the current base the crew was taking off for Louisiana, “Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, they can access some of those other states as well. Abilene is a better location for that.”
When the appropriation begins on September first, airport officials will be able to select an engineering firm. They anticipate beginning construction next summer, and to have the permanent tanker base up and running in 2025.