COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The Colorado Springs Airport and U.S. Forest Service announced plans to spend $17 million to build a regional firefighting base at the airport.
The base will allow air tankers to load retardant to battle fires in five states and parts of 10 others, The Gazette reports.
A joint statement by Colorado Springs and the Forest Service said construction is scheduled to begin in April on offices, a storage building for retardant, an area where retardant will be mixed, and seven stations to load the retardant onto waiting aircraft.
The Forest Service has operated a temporary base since 2018 at the airport for military and commercial aircraft used to fight wildfires.
The permanent base is expected to open in 2021, officials said.
The base will allow the agency to send an increased amount of retardant faster and with greater efficiency to support firefighters on the ground facing wildfires in Western states, the number of which has increased in recent years, the forest service said in a statement.
The forest service plans to lease airport land for 40 years and construct a $9.3 million concrete ramp.
The airport expects to generate $100,000 in annual revenue from the facility and use the ramp for winter de-icing and parking for up to 15 aircraft diverted by weather to Colorado Springs from Denver International Airport or other airports, an official said.
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