Mobile air traffic control tower aids in California wildfire fight
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[June 15, 2021]
By Nathan Frandino
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Amid a
worsening drought emergency and fires already blazing across California,
Titus "Stretch" Gall is gearing up for another long wildfire season.
The 72-year-old former air traffic controller is the president of Tower
Tech Inc, a mobile air traffic control tower company that helps agencies
like the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire)
and the National Forest Service control the airspace over wildfires.
"They need to come and go as quickly and efficiently as they can," Gall
said, referring to aircraft used to dump flame retardant or water on
wildfires.
Five years before retiring, Gall began designing what would become a
nearly 14-foot-tall air traffic control tower on a trailer pulled by a
truck.
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The tower cab is equipped with everything an air traffic controller
would require: weather-monitoring sensors, iPads to show air traffic,
satellite dishes for the internet, phones and antennae for radios.
The cab is also fitted with special glass and shades so Gall and his
colleagues can see clearly out across the tarmac at airfields. Amenities
to keep the controllers comfortable can be found in the trailer, such as
a refrigerator, toilet and shower.
Gall says his company is the first mobile air traffic control company
certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a process he
said took more than five years.
As of May, California authorities had documented over
1,000 more wildfires across the state this year than had erupted by the
same time last year, Governor Gavin Newsom said last month.
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![](../images/061521pics/news_f11.jpg)
Tower Tech Inc. founder, Titus "Stretch" Gall, stands near his
mobile tower at Sacramento McClellan Airport in Sacramento,
California, U.S., June 3, 2021. Picture taken June 3, 2021.
REUTERS/Tracy Barbutes
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In 2020, the state marked its heaviest wildfire season on record in
terms of total acreage burned. More than 4 million acres (1.6
million hectares) and over 10,000 homes and other structures were
laid to waste and at least 33 lives lost.
Gall has seen conditions worsen since moving to California in the
early 1980s.
"The fire season is becoming much longer. The temperatures are
getting a little bit warmer," he said.
"So we're steadily busier and busier."
Despite the gravity of the mission, Gall enjoys his job.
"Man, it makes me feel great," he said, describing the thanks he
receives from tanker pilots. "You can imagine that that makes you
feel good because this is not a game."
(Reporting by Nathan Frandino; Editing by Karishma Singh)
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