Supertanker leaves Colorado Springs, deploys to Israel

The Supertanker is getting its first action since gaining final approval from federal regulators in December.

The massive Boeing 747’s CEO, Jim Wheeler, tells KRDO NewsChannel 13 it’s now in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Global Supertanker Services was hired Thursday by the Israeli government to fight fires that triggered evacuations of more than 60,000 people.

Those fires are believed by some to be politically-motivated arsons.

However, the question remains for some: When will Southern Colorado benefit from having the world’s most advanced firefighting aircraft in its own backyard?

“The Forest Service has a certification process that we’ve gone through and we’re awaiting their word,” said Wheeler.

And with fires like the Junkins and Beulah Hill, “We wanted to be there. We wanted to be there,” he added.

Wheeler adds, deploying the plane is an undertaking.

“It’s a few thousand dollars an hour to operate that plane just for fuel. It burns about 3,000 gallons per hour… at high altitude, when it’s on a fire it’s burning, 3,400 gallons per hour,” Wheeler explained.

He believes the price is worth it, and with an okay from the feds, their services will be used here.

“I suspect later this year or early next year we’ll enter into a contract with the federal government. However, there is never any guarantee.”