Forest Service seeks bids to modernize fleet of firefighting planes

In this Sept. 11, 2011 photo, a Texas Forest Service plane dumps fire retardant at a wildfire near Mixon, Texas. Fed by howling winds whipped up by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, flames streaked across drought-stricken Texas, where more than 190 fires statewide have killed four people. The worst damage was in Bastrop, where two smaller fires joined to form a monster blaze that has destroyed more than 1,550 homes and charred more than 34,000 acres. (AP Photo/The Tyler Morning Telegraph, Sarah A. Miller)