Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Congressman Greg Walden are welcoming news that the Forest Service has awarded ”call when needed” contracts to providers of wildfire-fighting large air tankers.  The trio pressed for the contracts to be awarded in a September 2019 letter to Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen.  The first solicitation for the contracts was issued in July 2018.  The “call when needed” contracts allow the Forest Service to put approved aircraft into service when those aircraft are needed, and do not require the Forest Service to pay for those aircraft when they are not needed.  Wyden said Oregonians need the broadest possible range of options for fighting wildfires, and Walden added this is welcome progress, but there is more work to do to reduce the threat of wildfires in the West.