Pacific Northwest Region – Mt. Hood National Forest
DATE
Background
The Troutdale Airtanker Base (ATB) is located at the Troutdale Airport (TTD) on ten acres of adjacent
National Forest System land administered by the Mt. Hood NF. The Forest Service owns all equipment and facilities but leases airfield access from the Port of Portland (Port), which manages
TTD. TTD Airtanker Base serves SW Washington and NW Oregon, which includes high-value infrastructure and resources (e.g., Bull Run Watershed), major travel corridors, and wildland urban interface areas with large populations. The Port plans to reconstruct runways at TTD. The new runways will not accommodate current (legacy) airtankers, next generation airtankers, or very large airtankers (VLATS). To prevent further damage to the existing runway, the Port has implemented a weight restriction that precludes further use of TTD for these airtankers.
A value analysis compared four Alternatives.
1.
Sites at Portland Airport for a permanent airtanker base

Facility improvement costs ranged from $340,000 - $4.5 million.

Annual lease and operating costs ranged from $280,000 - $335,000.
2.
Temporary airtanker base sites

Land for a portable ATB rented through a task order from an existing blanket purchase agreement would cost approximately $231,400 per year.

A PDX site leased for a seasonal base for a full-service retardant-loading contractor would cost approximately $298,250 per year.
3.
Continued airtanker service from other bases

Service to SW Washington and NW Oregon could be provided from airtanker bases at Moses
Lake (MWH) and Redmond (RDM).

Reload-base capabilities transferred to an airfield farther away than MWH and RDM large enough to handle next generation airtankers would provide quicker service to the western Cascades (e.g., Boeing Field, Seattle; Paine Field, Everett).
4.
Other options for aerial firefighting service

Single engine airtankers out of Troutdale could be used in lieu of large airtankers.

Service at TTD could be limited to helicopters, heli-tankers, or water-scooper.
Key Findings

Analysis shows that at cruise speed, a next generation airtanker (MD87) from RDM to the Bull Run area requires 12 more minutes than from TTD. An MD87 from PDX to the Bull Run area would require 5 more minutes than from TTD.

Establishment of an additional permanent base at PDX would require substantial initial investments. Current capital improvement funding is extremely limited.
Recommendations

Close the Troutdale ATB and provide service from other regional airtanker bases, which is the most cost-effective solution to provide retardant delivery to the area currently served by the Troutdale ATB.

Focus investment in RDM, where runways must be upgraded to accommodate next generation large airtankers and VLATS.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.