It didn’t take long for one Moses Lake man to spring into action when he got word that the Global Supertanker was shutting down its operations last week.
Tom Dent is an agricultural pilot, buffalo farmer, and a legislative representative in Washington’s 13th district. Dent also chairs Washington’s Wildfire Caucus. On Monday, the Republican lawmaker informed iFIBER ONE News that he was composing a letter to the Congressional Western Caucus to urge the feds to provide all or a portion of the $25 million needed to keep the plane functional and operating as the Global Supertanker.
The grounding of the Boeing 747 firefighter comes as the wildfire season begins in Washington state. Dent says if lawmakers fail to find the funding needed to keep the plane aloft as a tanker, it would likely revert to a cargo plane.