Damaged Cal Fire Plane Cleared off Runway, Hemet Ryan Air Attack Open for Business, Six Tankers Fighting Pendleton Blaze

A Cal Fire tanker plane that was damaged in a hard landing and spilled retardant Friday at Hemet Ryan Air Attack Base was cleared off the field's only runway Saturday morning, and by afternoon base personnel were supporting six fixed-wing aircraft fighting the fire at Camp Pendleton.

The runway at Hemet Ryan was considered cleared as of 8:15 a.m. Oct. 5, Cal Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera said in a phone interview.

The S-2T tanker that came down hard and skidded down the runway about 5:40 p.m. Friday sustained landing gear damage and bent propeller tips. It was up on its landing gear Saturday afternoon, situated near base command buildings.

The crash-landing was being investigated by Cal Fire, the NTSB and Cal Fire support contractor DynCorp, Herrera said.

The pilot was not injured in the landing incident.

Hemet police posted post-crash photos of the damaged S-2T, showing the plane stationary at Hemet Ryan in a pool of red retardant, before sundown Friday. On Saturday Herrera estimated the tanker plane was carrying under 200 gallons of retardant during the landing incident.

Hemet Ryan Air Attack Base personnel Saturday afternoon were supporting six tanker planes fighting the fire at Camp Pendleton, Battalion Chief Justin McGough said at base command before 4 p.m. Oct. 5.

The fire at Pendleton broke out earlier Saturday and sent up a plume of smoke visible across southwest Riverside County.

"There is an active fire on Camp Pendleton that is no threat to Riverside County," Jody Hagemann of Cal Fire-Riverside County said in a statement at 1:45 p.m.

"Residents in the southwest portion of the county may experience drift smoke, including the areas of: Temecula, Murrieta, Bear Creek, Tenaja, La Cresta, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Rainbow and other areas in the southwest portion of the county."

The Camp Pendleton Scout, a base newspaper, posted online the fire had burned about 100 acres as of 4 p.m. Saturday.