From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Wildland Fire Management and the Federal Fire Aviation
Program

Description: Audio interview by GAO staff with Anne-Marie Fennel,
Director, Natural Resources and Environment

Related GAO Work: GAO-13-684: Wildland Fire Management: Improvements
Needed in Information, Collaboration, and Planning to Enhance Federal
Fire Aviation Program Success

Released: August 2013

[ Background Music ]

[Narrator:] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report; your source for news and
information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's August,
2013. Severe wildland fires in recent years highlight the role of
federal aerial firefighting support. In 2002, the government had 44
large air tankers in its fleet of firefighting aircraft, but in 2013, it
only had 8. A team led by Anne-Marie Fennell, a director in GAO's
Natural Resources and Environment team, recently reviewed agency efforts
to ensure the adequacy of the federal firefighting aircraft fleet. GAO's
Sarah Kaczmarek sat down with Anne-Marie to learn more.

[Sarah Kaczmarek:] Over the last few years, there have been a number of
severe wildfires, including the terrible tragedy in Arizona where 19
firefighters died. What aspects of wildland fire management does your
report cover?

[Anne-Marie Fennell:] Our report covers the role that firefighting
aircraft play in helping the federal government fight wildland fires.
Responsibility for fighting wildland fires within the federal government
largely rests with the Forest Service within the Department of
Agriculture, and various land management bureaus within the Department
of Interior.

[Sarah Kaczmarek:] So with that first point, what's the government doing
to identify the firefighting aircraft needed?

[Anne-Marie Fennell:] Since 1995, the Forest Service and Department of
Interior have engaged in 9 major efforts to identify the type and mix of
aircraft they need to fight wildland fires. Largely, these efforts have
comprised of studies and strategy documents.

[Sarah Kaczmarek:] And what steps is the Forest Service taking to
modernize the large air tanker fleet, and what challenges are they
facing?

[Anne-Marie Fennell:] The Forest Service has a multi-faceted approach.
Near-term is to rely on its legacy aircraft. Its medium term is to
replace the legacy aircraft with next-generation aircraft. The long-term
approach is to acquire its own aircraft through the purchase of the
C-130 Hercules and obtaining C-27 Spartans through an intergovernment
transfer with the military. Each of these particular approaches faces
significant challenges for the Forest Service. In terms of the near-term
approach regarding the legacy aircraft, the age and cost of operating
these aircraft is of significant concern and casts doubt on the
availability of the aircraft to fight wildland fires. In terms of the
medium-term approach that the Forest Service is taking, they have been
hampered in terms of getting the next-generation aircraft due to a
series of bid protests that have delayed contract award. In addition,
most of the aircraft have not been fully tested and approved for
operational use. Finally, in terms of its long-term approach of
acquiring its own fleet of aircraft, the Forest Service was challenged
because it was unable to justify the acquisition of such aircraft to the
Office of Management Budget. And in addition to that, the agency faces
potential challenges in terms of the retarding capacity of the aircraft
and the cost in maintaining of the aircraft that they would obtain from
an intergovernmental transfer.

[Sarah Kaczmarek:] And what's GAO recommending the Forest Service do to
improve this situation?