BOISE, Idaho — Due to a lack of jet fuel, airport authorities are afraid that they may have to turn away planes and helicopters dropping fire retardants during what might be a violent wildfire season, putting nearby towns at risk.
Jessica Gardetto, a veteran wildland firefighter and spokesperson for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, stated, “We haven’t run across it before.” “With all of the current shortages, it’s a terrifying thought.”
Jet fuel demand fell dramatically and supply chains atrophied during the coronavirus epidemic, according to airport officials, aviation supply firms, and jet fuel transport companies. Even as the economy improves and more people come to airports for long-delayed flights, they have yet to recover in the Western United States.
Jet fuel stocks in the United States are at or above the five-year average, according to the government, with the exception of the Rocky Mountains, where they are 1% lower. According to different industry officials, this appears to point to the supply chain as a possible issue.
“COVID lulled everybody to sleep,” said Mark Haynes, vice president of sales for Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Avfuel Corporation, which supplies jet fuel across the United States, including to roughly half of the country’s 44 air tanker bases operated by the United States Forest Service or the United States Bureau of Land Management in western states. Tanker bases are also maintained by certain states.
“Our firm has nearly ceased to exist,” says the entrepreneur, “Haynes said. “Many trucking businesses had to lay off (jet fuel) drivers as a result of the shortage. As a result of the United States’ opening up, demand for leisure travel has increased dramatically.”
“We may have a fire here inside our reaction area in the blink of an eye that will bring in one to three DC-10s and a lot of variable-sized air tankers,” he added. “We can go from a few thousand gallons (3,800 liters) per day to 50,000 (190,000 liters) to 60,000 gallons (227,000 liters) per day,” says the engineer.
He said he prefers to maintain 60,000 gallons (227,000 liters) of fuel at the airport, but that delivery is restricted. If a big fire breaks out in the neighborhood, he thinks he will be forced to flee.
Humboldt Pacific LCC, located in Stockton, California, says it is extending its fleet of 20 jet fuel tanker trucks to deliver gasoline to West Coast states and, during wildfire season, Idaho, Montana, and Utah. He stated that there is now a driver scarcity as well as a shortage of jet fuel to supply.
“Right now, the supply chain is perhaps the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen in my years of experience,” Cyphers, who has worked in the business since 1986, said.
Because they hadn’t gotten their full allocation of jet fuel, Cyphers said his business has been transporting jet fuel to airports supplied by pipeline.
Each year, hundreds of aircraft are deployed to combat wildfires. The vast majority of the country’s big retardant bombers are jets. Jet fuel is also used by turboprop retardant bombers. They drop red fire retardant strips ahead of oncoming flames to aid ground personnel, who are more likely to maintain a fire line after a retardant bomber has dropped.
Most firefighting helicopters also utilize jet fuel, which officials fear may be in limited supply in the future for aerial wildfire operations.
“I might be wrong, but I don’t see them being able to overcome that gap,” the trucking company’s Cyphers said.