JOHN DAY   The U.S. Forest Service has based its aerial firefighting operations at the Grant County Regional Airport in John Day for about 30 years.

    Thanks to the airport terminal project, the agency now has a brand new facility for that work. The new place provides a lot more options, said manager of the U.S. Forest Service airbase Jeff Meyerholz.

    Were very pleased with it. It gives us a lot better ability to accomplish our mission, now and in the future. Theres no real comparison, he said.

    Beginning with a few storage sheds at the airport facility in the 1970s, Malheur National Forests rappel program got off the ground in 1991, and three buildings were erected. A small one was the operations center and kitchen, another was a training room and office space, the largest was a physical training room and locker/storage room.

    Essentially it hadnt changed much since the early 1990s. The old facility was dated, and a lot of things were breaking. It was also very energy inefficient, said Meyerholz. This is all centralized and very energy efficient. It will enable us to work better today and in the future.

    The Forest Service shares the brand -new 17,000-square-foot building with Grant County. The county has exclusive use of 2,600 square feet of space and the Forest Service, 7,000 square feet, with 7,500 square feet in shared space.

    The new building is a collaborative effort with the county, which provides a real bonus for the community, said Meyerholz. We got what we needed, working together, he said. Going in together, rather than separately, on facilities, allows the entities at the airport to easily communicate and work together safely. It accommodates both of our missions, he said.

    Meyerholz was among those providing input as designs for the building were drafted, then put into place.

    While office space is on the second floor, the heart of the facility is a very large ready room, where rappellers not out on fires will spend their time.

    The ready room has gear lockers, as well as areas where equipment is stored and can be repaired.

    A loft area is designed as a place where rappellers can fill or replenish their gear bags. Food, sleeping bags and other equipment are  at hand.

   The ready room is adjoined by locker rooms for men and women, with showers, personal lockers, and a kitchen and laundry room.

   Another room has weights and exercise equipment for physical training. Another is a fully-equipped sewing room, where rappellers build the equipment they use.

    Elsewhere on the first floor is a large conference room that can be partitioned into two, as needed. There, the Malheurs annual Rappel Academy, held in May or June, will have classroom space for new and renewing rappellers.

    Once fire season gets under way, normally the period between May 1 and mid-October, the facility will be busy to the point of bustling.

    Unlike late fall and winter months, when a handful of full-time personnel are there, between 30 and 35 full-time persons will occupy the facility during fire season.

    At peak times, workers from contracting aircraft businesses also will be there, bumping up the number to 40 to 45.

    In a busy fire season, an additional 10 to 15 rappellers will arrive to help with specific firefighting needs on the Forest.

    A crows nest area in the Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible building, that is ordinarily designated as a pilots lounge and viewing area, will become an operations center.

    With the added staff and 10 to 15 helicopters on duty, there could be up to about 100 people on site at the seasons peak, said Meyerholz, who has been in his current position since 2001, with almost 25 years experience in fire and aviation.

    The old facility will be demobilized within a year or so, he added. The intent is to use that space as a helipad.

    The parking lot area between the old space and the new, was formerly the base for single engine tankers, now on the  north side of the airport.