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ByMichaelR.Blood TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES With a vast swath of the West primed for wildfires, federal foresters are preparing for the worst with a budget that might run dry and a fleet of air tank- ers that in some cases aren't ready for takeoff. A combination of ex- tended drought, warm- ing weather and an abun- dance of withered trees and grasses have created ideal conditions for fire — more than 22 million acres were blackened by wildfires from 2011-2013, primarily across the West. "It looks like it's going to be a serious enough sea- son to where we run out of money again," Tom Harbour, director of fire and aviation management for the U.S. Forest Service, warned in an interview with The As- sociated Press. "I'm really concerned, there is no question," Har- bour said. "I think we are go- ing to have a lot of fire." The agency is doing what it can to prepare for wildfire season by burning sections of forest in high-risk areas to remove dead or dry vegeta- tion that could fuel to a fire. In another step, crews will launch a major forest-thin- ning project on Lake Tahoe's north shore. In no place is the situa- tion more worrisome than in California, where sev- eral years of stingy rain- fall have turned forests and scrub into matchsticks and tens of thousands of homes are perched along fire-prone areas. Firefighters battled a blaze in the mountains east of Los Angeles this week, where temperatures neared triple digits. And states from New Mexico through south- ern Oregon have been left sere by a lack of rain and snow. But even as fire risk has increased in recent years, the number of large air tank- ers dropped. About a decade ago the Forest Service had more than 40 of the big tankers at its disposal — the draft horses of firefighting air- craft that can dump thou- sands of gallons of flame- snuffing retardant in a sin- gle swoop, far more than a helicopter. According to federal an- alysts, the fleet hit a low of eight aircraft at one point last year, depleted by age and concerns over the ability of the planes, in some cases flying since the dawn of the Cold War, to stay in the sky. Deadly crashes — in- cluding when a 57-year-old tanker flew into the side of a Utah mountain in June 2012, killing the pilot and co-pi- lot — fanned doubts about safety. A federal investiga- tion into the cause of that crash is incomplete. The agency has been working for several years to modernize its creaky fleet of tankers, with checkered re- sults. The core of the fleet was expected to include 17 air- craft for 2014, but seven of those planes aren't ready to fly. The fleet is anchored to eight aircraft with an av- erage age of half a cen- tury. As part of a modern- ization blueprint, the For- est Service contracted last year for seven newer tank- ers that can fly twice as fast as the older planes and carry larger payloads, but only two are on the runway. The others are eight months late on delivery. Among the issues: The tank- ers have yet to obtain Fed- eral Aviation Administra- tion certification, a require- ment to fly. The agency hopes to have all the tankers off the ground by summer, but Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, has called the delay unacceptable. "These tankers prom- ised to be a game-changer for Western communities grappling with the peren- nial threat of modern mega- fires," Udall wrote to the Forest Service in April. "I am deeply concerned that delivery of the remaining five will be further delayed and unavailable for the 2014 wildfire season." Federal studies suggest the agency needs as many as 28 of the newer, faster tank- ers, but that target remains years away. Meanwhile, plans for two other large tankers have been sidelined by a dispute over a contract that called for paying up to $496 million over nine years to a Montana company for exclusive use of two aircraft. A decision has not been made whether to scrap the deal or try to fix it. In another glitch, federal legislation gave the Forest Service the authority to ob- tain up to five extra air tank- ers, but didn't provide the funds to lease them. The agency can also draw on eight military tankers, if needed. Eight others can be dispatched from Alaska and Canada, but those are not al- ways available. The agency is moving earlier this year to get fire- fighters and equipment into threatened areas. "We are going to be look- ing at the weather and con- ditions ... and move things as we need to, to try to head things off before they get ahead of us," said agency spokesman Mike Ferris. The Forest Service does not own the large tankers but strikes agreements with aviation companies that buy used aircraft, modify them for firefighting duty and then offer them for government lease. The agency also leases helicopters and smaller air- craft to douse fires. The up-and-down pur- suit of a faster, more reli- able tanker fleet has played out against a backdrop of increasingly destructive blazes. WEST As w il dfi re f ea r ri se s, U S ta nk er fl ee t in co mp le te SANGABRIELVALLEYTRIBUNE,LEOJARZOMB—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Smoke from the Etiwanda Fire looms behind firefighters staging on Wilson Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday. By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday that it ap- pears there was little Califor- nia could have done to keep Toyota, the world's largest automaker, from moving its U.S. headquarters and about 3,000 jobs to Texas. "Change is inevitable," he told reporters after address- ing the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Brown cited comments from senior Toyota officials who said the decision to con- solidate operations in Plano, a suburb of Dallas, was based partlyonitsproximitytocom- panymanufacturingplantsin Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Indiana. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the state offered Toyota $40 million in incen- tives, and the mayor of Plano said the city aggressively courted Toyota. "So, you know, this is a company decision, whether — why and how — I think they explained it," Brown said. "But now, if you don't want to believe them, they gave their reasons — and their reasons were consoli- dation." Republicans have said Toyota'smoveisanothersign of California's inhospitable business climate and failure to aggressively court compa- nies, even as Texas and New York target California busi- nesseswithwhattheysayare more favorable tax and regu- latory environments. The two leading Republi- cans who are campaigning for governor in hopes of chal- lenging Brown in November criticized him for failing to enact policies that retain ma- jorcompaniessuchasToyota. Neel Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury official, called Brown's comments "unbe- lievable. It's so dismissive, and it's disrespectful to the millions of Californians who are looking for jobs." "That's the next question: Why aren't we manufactur- ing Toyota vehicles in Cali- fornia? It's this benign res- ignation that the destruction of the middle-class is inevi- table and there's no role for the governor to play in turn- ing it around," Kashkari said Friday. Assemblyman Tim Don- nelly, R-Twin Peaks, said earlier this week that Cal- ifornia is "watching job af- ter job after job leave with- out a fight." Brown pointed Friday to other signs that he said in- dicate a robust economy and strong investment in Califor- nia. "We're getting 60 per- cent of the venture capital. We're the number one place for direct foreign investment in the United States. Do we have everything in all re- spects? No. But we have an abundance that constitutes a $2 trillion economy," he said. "Is that any reason for com- placency? No. That's why we have GO-Biz, that's why the legislature meets every year. And I'm certainly always on the look-out for things that can improve California." Palo Alto, California- based electric car-maker Tesla Motors Inc. recently announced it is consider- ing four states as sites for two new battery-making fa- cilities: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Toyota will maintain about 2,300 jobs in Califor- nia after the company settles into its new corporate cam- pus in late 2016 or early 2017. BUSINESS Brown: Keeping Toyota nearly impossible DAMIAN DOVARGANES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The National Headquarters of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. building is seen in Torrance on Monday. By Amy Taxin The Associated Press SANTA ANA A former tug- boat operator who was in a custody fight with his ex- wife pleaded guilty Friday to killing her and seven oth- ers in a shooting rampage at a California hair salon in 2011. Scott Dekraai, 44, shack- led in a crowded courtroom, looked only at the judge as he entered his pleas to eight counts of murder and one count of attempted mur- der with special circum- stances and enhancements in Orange County Superior Court. "After today you will not be an alleged killer any- more, you are going to be a convicted murderer," Judge Thomas M. Goethals told Dekraai. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death pen- alty. Dekraai's lawyer has said his client entered the pleas to spare victims' relatives from sitting through a trial. However, he said Dekraai will fight to keep from being sentenced to death. Relatives dabbed their eyes and cried quietly in the courtroom as the judge read the names of the victims. Some said afterward that they welcomed the plea as a step forward, Still, hear- ing the names of their loved ones in court was a painful reminder of their loss. "It's another dose of real- ity in dealing with this," said Paul Wilson, whose wife was killed in the attack. Authorities said Dekraai shot and killed Michelle Fournier before turning his gun on the salon's owner and spraying Salon Meritage with bullets. CRIME Ma n pl ea ds g ui lt y in s ta te s al on k ill in gs By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Law en- forcement authorities were searching Friday for a training instructor for the state's firefighting agency after a woman was found fatally stabbed in a Sacra- mento-area home. The Sacramento County coroner's office on Fri- day identified 26-year- old Sarah Jane Douglas as the woman whose body was found Thursday in the south Sacramento County home she shared with Or- ville Fleming. Fleming, 55, is a Califor- nia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection battal- ion chief who has taught for several years at the de- partment's fire academy in Ione, about 40 miles south- east of Sacramento. His offi- cial state vehicle, a CalFire pickup truck, was found un- occupied Thursday night in Elk Grove, a suburb just south of Sacramento. Fleming has not been found, despite an extensive air and ground search. SacramentoCountySher- iff's Sgt. Lisa Bowman said Fleming is thought to have ties to the neighborhood where the truck was left, as well as the Fresno area. In a statement, she said he is known to own firearms and is believed to be armed. Sheriff's investigators determined that Douglas was stabbed and that the two might have been fight- ing just after midnight on Thursday, Bowman said. The coroner's office has not yet performed an au- topsy on the woman. Therewasalargeamount ofbloodatthescene,mostof which is believed to be from the victim. But Bowman said Fleming also might have been injured. "Obviously, this is a very tragic situation for every- body involved, the family as well as those he worked with," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state fire agency. Fleming joined the de- partment 24 years ago as a seasonal firefighter before being hired as a fulltime employee, Berlant said. 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