PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a contract to a Scottsdale company to design and build a new helicopter base in northern Gila County to support firefighting activities.
Tonto National Forest officials said the new facility will be located next to a Gila County maintenance yard near Star Valley.
It will replace a temporary facility that was used for 16 years but had to be set up and taken apart every year at a site at the Payson airport.
The $4.9 million new facility is expected to be operational by the beginning of the 2022 fire season.
