SANTA MARIA - A Central Coast firefighting workhorse in the air may be getting grounded for good.
The venerable P2V was a reliable workhorse that helped save dozens of homes from a fast-moving wildfire above Santa Barbara Last month.
But the future of the air tanker as part of a nationwide firefighting fleet is in doubt as authorities consider moving to a new generation of retardant dropping aircraft.
The rapid airborne firefighting response to the Lookout Fire above Painted Cave Road last month saved dozens of homes.
In an exclusive interview with Central Coast News, P2V pilot Brian Baker said he was honored to fly the iconic workhorse aircraft.
"There's no other aircraft in the world like this", Baker said, "it's a pleasure and privilege to be flying this aircraft."
But now the future of the P2V remains very much up in the air.
Government agencies and contractors are considering a new generation of firefighting aircraft like the BAE 146 that saw action in the aerial assault on the Lookout Fire.
"What's unique about that aircraft is they are jets and they have a quicker air speed", says Santa Maria Air Attack Base pilot Mark Nunez, "they can get up to higher altitudes and fly quite a bit faster than the previous air tankers."
Keeping the air attack base open at the Santa Maria Airport has proven to be in this fire season a strategically important decision.
"This past fire season we did fly about 20 fires, and everyone of those fires was caught during the initial attack phase the first day of the fire with retardant coming out of the base here", Nunez says, "we happened to have a year this year where all of our fires fell in that range and we caught them all early."
Currently there are only about nine P2V's still flying as part of the country's firefighting aircraft.
