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Big air tankers helping firefighters battle wildfires in Arizona and beyond

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Big air tankers helping firefighters battle wildfires in Arizona and beyond


As crews continue to battle wildfires across the state, we take a closer look at a tool they use to fight the flames from the skies above.

One of those tools, the 10 Tanker, was recently seen battling the Diamond Fire that broke out near Scottsdale.

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“These airplanes can leave in the next ten minutes and go to Washington, Oregon, Texas wherever,” said Joel Kerley with 10 Tanker Air Carrier.

At more than 181 feet long, the 10 Tankers are the largest air tankers on the planet.

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“What that does for the firefighters is it just allows us to build longer line, and just get more product out there in one shot,” said Kerley.

Since 2006, the Albuquerque, N.M.-based company has responded to hundreds of wildfires across the world, including in Chile and Australia.

The 10 Tankers are DC-10s, and have the capability to deliver 9,400 gallons of fire retardant within eight seconds.

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“Even when it is full, it still performs really well, and still has a lot of power reserve,” said Kerley.

There are a total of four 10 Tankers, and two are in Arizona. 

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“These airplanes, generally in a season, will run about 1.5 million to 2 million gallons of product out to the fire,” said Kerley.

These air tankers, as Kerley mentioned, dump fire retardants. PHOS-CHEK is a fire retardant that has been used to fight fires.

“PHOS-CHEK has been in business for over 60 years it was one of the pioneering companies of the retardant industry,” said Brian Sommerfeldt with Perimeter Solutions.

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PHOS-CHEK can stop flames from spreading in their tracks.

“It will burn fast ’cause it’s really dry. Once it gets to the retardant, it’s put out,” said Sommerfeldt.

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“PHOS-CHEK fire retardant concentrate, they are available in two forms,” said Jeff Emery with Perimeter Solutions. “They can either be dry powders, or they can be delivered as liquids, and both are designed to contain and prevent the spread of a wildfire.”

The fire retardant is also safe and environmentally-friendly. Air bases like Mesa-Gateway store them in vats, ready to pump into the planes in a matter of minutes.

Over the years, PHOS-CHEK’s color has changed.

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“It’s easier to detect from a green canopy or brown desert, so in the years past, it was more of a red. Now, it’s more of a fuchsia,” said Sommerfeldt.



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Arizona

Newest Arizona members of Congress sworn in during opening day in DC

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Newest Arizona members of Congress sworn in during opening day in DC


Gary Farmer is an actor, musician, and activist whose made a career in indigenous media. His performances in television and film have received rave reviews. The1989 film “Powwow Highway”, in which he stars, was just inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry.



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Yassamin Ansari, Abe Hamadeh set to become Arizona’s newest members of Congress

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Yassamin Ansari, Abe Hamadeh set to become Arizona’s newest members of Congress


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Arizona’s two newest U.S. House members are set to get sworn into their posts as the 119th Congress gets underway.

Republican Abe Hamadeh, a lawyer, and Democrat Yassamin Ansari, a former Phoenix vice mayor, are expected to take their oaths of office on Friday, shortly after the House resumes session.

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Hamadeh will replace Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., who is retiring from Congress to serve on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. 

He will represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, an overwhelmingly Republican area that covers parts of Maricopa and Yavapai counties, including Glendale, Peoria, Sun City West and New River.

Propelled by an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump, Hamadeh defeated a crowded field of other Republicans in Arizona’s July 30 primary election and sailed to an easy victory in the Nov. 5 general election.

Hamadeh, a self-described “America First warrior,” largely echoed Trump’s positions on the campaign trail. He will serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee.

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Ansari will represent Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, a stretch of Maricopa County that includes parts of Phoenix and Glendale. She is replacing Democrat Ruben Gallego, who has swapped his House seat for a U.S. Senate seat. Her House committee assignments have not been announced.

During the primary election, Ansari hewed closer to the political center than her opponent, former state Sen. Raquel Terán of Phoenix. Ansari ran on a progressive platform but staked out more centrist turf on issues like policing and U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.

She beat out Terán by just 39 votes, and, like Hamadeh, won her November election in a landslide.

Ansari plans to join the House’s Progressive Caucus, the Democrats’ most left-leaning faction on Capitol Hill.

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3 arrested in connection with good Samaritan's killing in Arizona

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3 arrested in connection with good Samaritan's killing in Arizona


Three people were arrested this week in connection with the death of a good Samaritan in Arizona last month, officials said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department identified two of the three people arrested Monday as Jack Upchurch, 40, and Elmer Smith, 19. The third person is 16 years old. NBC News does not typically identify minors accused of crimes.

The trio were arrested in connection with the death of Paul Clifford, 53, whose body was found near a smoldering car northeast of Tucson last month.

Sabrina Vining, a woman who identified herself as Clifford’s daughter in an online fundraiser, said her father disappeared after he left his house at 11:30 p.m. Dec. 23 to help a “stranger with a stranded vehicle.”

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NBC affiliate KVOA of Tucson reported that Clifford’s family reported him missing after, they said, a strange man knocked on Clifford’s door and asked for help with his car.

He was later found dead, the sheriff’s department said. It did not provide a cause or manner of death.

Officials said they received information Monday about a possible location for the three suspects.

Detectives searched the area and obtained a search warrant for a property, which the Pima Regional SWAT team carried out.

The suspects barricaded themselves inside a home and eventually called 911 to negotiate a surrender, the sheriff’s department said. They left the residence and were taken into custody.

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The sheriff’s department did not release any information about a motive or how it connected the suspects to Clifford’s killing.

The three suspects were booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center on felony arrest warrants, officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether they have legal representation. Jail records do not list attorneys for any of the three.

Upchurch was being held on a $1 million bond, Smith on $1.025 million bail and the minor on a half-million-dollar bond, according to jail records.



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