On May 20, 2025, Inland Action met with Leslie Casavan, Program Manager for the National Airtanker Program.
For 17 years, Leslie Casavan has held numerous positions at the San Bernardino airtanker Base. In 2021 Leslie became the National Airtanker Program Manager where she is involved in all things air tankers and scoopers. Leslie will speak on wildfire mitigation, forest management efforts, funding needs, and the roles that air tanker bases play, particularly in our area.
Leslie provided an excellent overview of the tanker program as well as her role in coordinating resources. Her presentation provided a four-month forward looking national outlook on wildland fire potential for 2025. The National Airtanker Program oversees 34 tanker bases with only 4 as owned land. The rest are leased bases. In addition, the program has 29 airtankers on exclusive use and 6 multi-engine scoopers on exclusive use. In addition, the bases have access to 5 “as needed” airtankers and 4 “as needed” multi-engine scoopers. If for any reason there is no national need for the “as needed” equipment, those contractors may deploy the resources to an international need.
In the past, Leslie used historical data to determine the schedule of the tanker resources. In 2024, she reached out to the regions to ask for their input as wildland fires were changing. For the first time, the western region had tanker and scooper resources available into January 2025. While these resources were available at the time of the Palisades fire, the winds did not allow the planes to address the need. With the needs now moving later into the winter season, maintenance of the equipment is also needing to be reorganized. In the past, the equipment would go into maintenance in the December/January timeframe. They are now needed to address fires.
In the past Inland Action advocated for resources to address the tanker needs at the SB Airport. While these resources were provided, they were not earmarked and were diverted to another tanker need. IA will continue to work with Leslie to advocate for our local needs.
One of the most challenging aspects of Leslie’s position at this time is the lack of obligation of budget. Leslie must present budget needs on a monthly basis to ensure that the program remains funded. The obligation of budget used to be OMB and is now DOGE. She is hopeful that an annual budget will be defined in the near future.
<photo: Mike Burrows with SB International Airport, Leslie Casavan, and Michael Rivera, IA Chair>