Wes is a fourth generation Southern Californian born in Arcadia and raised in Glendora and is the youngest of three sons. His dad was a salesman whose territory was the western United States, and the family’s summer vacation was to jump into the ’73 Ford Maverick and join their father.
During his White House Fellowship Wes was assigned to the Department of Agriculture. While there he was assigned to a working group with the U.S. Forest Service to look at opportunities to upgrade the wildland firefighting fleet of aircraft.
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In 2002, a C-130, call sign Tanker 130 owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming and operated under contract to the United States Forest Service (USFS), had its wings fall off mid-flight as it was fighting northern Californian wildfires. It rolled, inverted and crashed into the forest below, killing all three crewmen (pilot Steve Wass, co-pilot Craig Labare, flight engineer Michael Davis) aboard.[1]
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As part of the working group, Wes brought his expertise as a pilot to the discussion. Several types of military aircraft are suited to the wildfire mission. A key consideration is making sure future aircraft are engineered to handle the stresses of high-g low-level flight.
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As your Congressman Wes is committed to working with the USFS to make sure the proper equipment is selected to fight wildfires, and make sure wildfire mitigation is properly