State Forester: Feds should ease certification for fire aircraft

After Alaska’s second worst fire season on record, the state forester told a U.S. Senate committee the government should stop practices that he says needlessly sideline firefighting aircraft.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the hearing to discuss how to improve federal fire management. Alaska State Forester Chris Maisch says one long-standing problem is that both the Forest Service and the Interior Department require aircraft to meet certain standards for firefighting, and each agency certifies