Performance of initial attack airtanker systems with interacting bases and variable initial attack ranges

Each day, forest fire managers must deploy airtankers at initial attack bases to minimize initial attack response times. They must decide how many airtankers to deploy at each base and the initial attack range of each airtanker. We develop a daily airtanker simulation model and use it to investigate how airtanker system performance varies as a function of initial attack range, fire arrival rates, and time of day. Our results indicate that the optimal initial attack range decreases as the daily fire load increases. Fire managers can use this information to design airtanker dispatch policies that will minimize initial attack response times.