Plans to relocate operations of a massive firefighting jet to Casper/Natrona County International Airport have been scrapped.

Airport Manager Glenn Januska says the operators of 10 Tanker Air Carrier notified officials this week that they had changed their minds about making Casper the headquarters for the specially-modified DC-10 airliner.

According to Januska, 10 Tanker’s operators signed a new contract with the U.S. Forest Service, and relocating to a cold weather climate would not be the fit needed, considering winter storage, aircraft maintenance and operations.

The aircraft, which weighs in at 385,000 pounds, is capable of dropping just under 12,000 gallons of retardant on fires. Last year, the DC-10 operated out of Casper battling fires in Nebraska, South Dakota, as well as the Sheep Herder Hill fire on Casper Mountain and the Jackson Canyon fires.

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