Improved aerial firefighting base opens in north-central Wyoming

BUFFALO — Federal and state firefighting agencies on Friday unveiled a new aerial firefighting base in Casper, a centrally located resource created to benefit all of Wyoming heading into what is expected to be a busy fire season.

Amping up aerial firefighting capabilities out of the base at the Casper-Natrona County International Airport has been an interagency effort, involving the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming State Forestry.

The single engine airtanker – or SEAT – base first opened in 2020, and the BLM has since then prioritized projects to upgrade these bas...