Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden and Idaho Republican Mike Crapo led a bipartisan group of their Senate colleagues in requesting funding to modernize firefighting assets so the U.S. Forest Service can respond in a cost-effective manner to devastating wildfires.  In letters to Senate Committee on Appropriations leadership and the U.S. Forest Service, the senators say a modern, highly capable large air tanker and water-scooper fleet has proven to be one of the most effective immediate responses to limit the expansion of wildfires into uncontrollable mega-fires.  The available aircraft doing this today continue to be retired ex-military/ex-civil aircraft, repurposed for air tanker operations and flown by small private contract firms.  Wyden and Crapo say to ensure the Forest Service can most effectively fight wildfires, Congress must immediately act to invest in modern firefighting assets.  Wyden and Crapo were joined in sending the letters by a bipartisan group of seven other senators, including Oregon’s Jeff Merkley and Washington’s Maria Cantwell.