Oregon firm's firefighting 747 making test drops
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A Boeing 747 equipped to drop retardant on forest fires will show what it can do on the Railbelt Complex fire in Alaska's Interior.
Evergreen International Aviation of McMinnville, Ore., flew its plane to Fairbanks to demonstrate its ability to douse an area three miles long and 100 yards wide.
It can carry up to 20,000 gallons of retardant — about 10 times the amount of two tankers the state Division of Forestry currently has under contract.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says state officials haven't decided yet whether to hire the jumbojet tanker.
The Railbelt Complex has burned more than 350,000 acres near Nenana, and the smoke is visible from Fairbanks.
(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press)
