Travis Alexander 

B3118 
Battalion Chief
Air Operations Officer

 

RYAN AIR ATTACK AND

HELITACK CREWS:

 
Perri Hall : Fire Captain - Air Tanker Base Manager

Eric Halbert : Fire Apparatus Engineer - Air Tanker Base Manager

Erik Collins : Fire Apparatus Engineer - Air Tanker Base Manager

   Ricardo Ginese - Fire Apparatus Engineer - Helitender Operator

John Linzalone : Fire Apparatus Engineer - Helitender Operator

  Glenn Jenkins : Communications Operator

  Les Koehler : Fire Pilot - Air Attack 310

  Lee Munson: Fire Pilot - Relief Air Attack 310

  Deen Ohel: Fire Pilot - Tanker 72

  Mike Venable: Fire Pilot -Tanker 73

  Bob Forbes: Fire Pilot - Relief Tanker 72, 73

  Travis Bailey: Aircraft Mechanic

Bob Innes : Fire Captain - Helitack

  Clint Blackmon : Fire Captain - Helitack

Pat O'Connor : Fire Captain - Helitack

Frank Abril   : Fire Captain - Helitack

George Karcher : Forestry Fire Pilot - Helicopter 301

  David Patrick : Forestry Fire Pilot - Helicopter 301  

  
 
HELITACK FIREFIGHTERS:

Adan Castro - Helitack Firefighter I

Derek Cook - Helitack Firefighter I

Erick Cruz - Helitack Firefighter I

Kelly DeGifford - Helitack Firefighter I

Jake Flores - Helitack Firefighter I

Ray Gomez - Helitack Firefighter I

Cory Iverson - Helitack Firefighter I

Matt Krause - Helitack Firefighter I

Robert Lugo - Helitack Firefighter I

Shane Manners - Helitack Firefighter I

Jose Medina - Helitack Firefighter I

Anthony Pappani - Helitack Firefighter I

Ray Phelps - Helitack Firefighter I

Ryan Phillips - Helitack Firefighter I

Ben Powell - Helitack Firefighter I

Keith Richardson - Helitack Firefighter I

Adam Ricketts - Helitack Firefighter I

Nick Sutton - Helitack Firefighter I

Darnel Valencia - Helitack Firefighter I

The CAL FIRE 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 CAL FIRE Air Program at Ryan, please click on the logo above.

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