Optimum use of air tankers in initial attack: selection basing and transfer rules.

Research paper

Chemical retardants dropped from air tankers can be effective in fire suppression - especially during the early stages. Maintenance and operation of aircraft are expensive. To use air tankers efficiently fire managers must anticipate each day the likely pattern of fire occurrence, and must transfer aircraft to forward bases accordingly. Before the fire season starts, they must decide on appropriate aircraft to contract and where to base these air tankers. Their decisions depend upon several factors, including expectations about fire occurrence patterns throughout the season, transfer and use rules, and budget levels for the air tanker program. This paper reports the development of a mixed integer linear program model to assist the manager of a wildfire suppression program in seasonal and daily assignment of air tankers.