Fire season is upon us

Large aerial firefighting tankers have taken up seasonal residence at Falcon Field Airport (FFZ) in Mesa, Arizona, with Tower confirming the basing arrangement for the summer fire season. FFZ, a reliever airport in the Phoenix metropolitan area operated by the City of Mesa, serves as a staging point for aerial firefighting assets during the high-risk period that typically runs from late spring through the onset of the Southwest monsoon in July. The aircraft in question appear to be among the larger platforms used in aerial firefighting operations — a category that can include converted DC-10s, BAe-146 tankers, and other heavy or large air tankers contracted through the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) or state agencies such as the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

For pilots operating in and out of FFZ and the surrounding Phoenix-area airspace, the presence of large tankers introduces several operational considerations. These aircraft operate under tight, mission-driven schedules and can depart with little notice when a fire call is received, meaning traffic sequencing and runway availability can shift rapidly. Pilots should anticipate wake turbulence advisories, as heavy tanker platforms generate significant vortices, and should expect potential priority handling by ATC for tanker departures and returns. Coordination with FFZ Tower is essential, as ground and pattern operations may be affected during active tanker surges.

Beyond the immediate airport environment, the tanker basing at FFZ signals heightened fire risk across Arizona and potentially neighboring states, which carries direct implications for IFR and VFR flight planning. Wildfire-generated TFRs (Temporary Flight Restrictions) under 14 CFR 91.137 are common throughout fire season and can appear with limited advance notice. Smoke from active fires also degrades visibility significantly, sometimes well below VFR minimums, and can introduce IFR conditions at lower altitudes even under otherwise clear synoptic conditions. Pilots should check NOTAMs and TFR.faa.gov routinely before and during flights across the desert Southwest during this period.

The basing of large tankers at a metropolitan reliever airport reflects a broader trend in how aerial firefighting resources are positioned and managed. The USFS and contracting agencies have increasingly pre-positioned assets near population centers and transportation infrastructure to reduce response times as fire seasons lengthen and intensify in the western United States. Falcon Field's location provides quick access to the Tonto National Forest, the Superstition Wilderness, and mountain terrain east of Phoenix — areas that have experienced significant fire activity in recent years. The trend toward larger, higher-capacity platforms also reflects the industry's push to deliver greater retardant loads per sortie in response to faster-moving and more destructive fire behavior driven by drought conditions and fuel accumulation across the region.