John Winder
Battalion Chief
Air Operations Officer

Ryan Air Attack and Helitack Crews:
Stephen Calkins : Fire Captain, Air Tanker Base Manager
Clay Williams: Fire Apparatus Engineer, Air Tanker Base Manager
Glenn Jenkins : Dispatcher
Les Koehler: Pilot, Air Attack 310
Lee Munson: Pilot, Relief Air Attack 310
Deen Ohel: Pilot, Tanker 72
Mike Venable: Pilot, Tanker 73
Bob Forbes: Pilot, Relief Tanker 72, 73
Travis Bailey: Aircraft Mechanic
Bob Innes : Fire Captain, Helitack
Pat Tomlinson : Fire Captain, Helitack
Perri Hall : Fire Captain, Helitack
Travis Alexander   : Fire Captain, Helitack
Victor Wierzba: Forestry Pilot, Helicopter 301
David Patrick: Forestry Pilot, Helicopter 301
Frank Abril: Fire Apparatus Engineer, Helitack
Kerry Smith: Fire Apparatus Engineer, Helitack
Erik Collins: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Matt DeWitt: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Jacob Flores: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Ray Gomez: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Steve LaGrande: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Jake Lorenz: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Jesus Ortega: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Ajmer Randhawa: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Tim Rodriguez: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Craig Rossi: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Jonathan Sisko: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
Brian Wagner: Fire Fighter I, Helitack
 

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Riverside Unit) operates a joint  Air Attack  / Helitack Base at the Hemet/Ryan Airport.  Ryan Air Attack Base is statistically one of the most active in the nation.   The fleet consists of an  OV-10 Bronco  - Air Attack 310, two  S2-T's  - Tanker 72 and 73 and one  UH-1H "Super Huey" helicopter - Copter 301.  Tankers 72 and 73 assigned to Hemet/Ryan are the “T” (turbine) models with 1200 gallon retardant capacity versus the 800 gallon limit in the older “A” models.  Air Attack 310 is an OV-10 two place twin turbine. As the pilot flies the plane, the Air Tactical Group Supervisor coordinates  the airtankers and helicopters to critical areas of the fire for crew deployment,   retardant and water drops.  The retardant used to slow or retard the spread of a fire is a slurry mix consisting of a chemical salt compound, water, clay or a gum as a thickening agent. At nine pounds per gallon an S-2T can carry 10,800 pounds. To learn more about the CDF Air Program at Ryan, please click on the logo above.