Air Force Thunderbirds Arrive for Travis Air Expo this Weekend

The information below was provided by the Travis AFB Public Affairs Office regarding the arrival of the Thunderbirds, the elite air demonstration team of the U.S. Air Force.

TRAVIS AFB -- The Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team has arrived at Travis AFB.

The Thunderbirds fly F-16 jets, which are faster and louder than the cargo and tanker aircraft normally seen in and around Solano County.

The Thunderbirds will practice intermittently until about 6:30 p.m. tonight. They will hold practice flights again Friday beginning at about 1 p.m.

Other aircraft also will be arriving at Travis today and Friday, including more fighters, bombers and vintage aircraft.

Travis will open its gates Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. for the airshow. Opening ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. each day. The event is free to the public.

The Thunderbirds will close the airshow each day with a performance that begins at about 3 p.m.

For more on the Air Expo, see www.visitsuisuncity.com/event/travis-air-expo

Travis AFB Plans Friday Exercise

SUISUN CITY, Calif. - Travis Air Force Base will conduct an exercise on Friday that may result in visible smoke and noise that can be heard from nearby urban areas.

The smoke should dissipate quickly, and is not expected to pose any hazards.

The exercise is part of the ongoing readiness mission of Travis Air Force Base as the leading military airlift facility on the West Coast.

For more information, please contact the 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs Office at 707-424-2011.

Travis AFB Conducts Preparedness Exercise

SUISUN CITY - Travis Air Force Base is conducting an ongoing, around-the-clock training exercise through Friday night designed to prepare airmen for deployment operations.

Travis officials notified Suisun City that the training will include firearms simulators, explosions, smoke grenades and amplified voice commands during both day and nighttime hours. These will primarily be used Wednesday Nov. 3 through Friday Nov. 5.

Residents of Suisun City, particularly those near Travis Air Force Base boundaries, may see or hear portions of this military exercise, particularly during nighttime hours when sound tends to carry further. It is only a training exercise necessary to prepare airmen for deployment.

Travis officials issued the notification to prevent panic or anxiety from members of the community unaware of the exercise.

If you have any questions or concerns about this exercise, contact the Travis AFB Public Affairs Office at 707-424-2011.

Fuel Cleanup Work Continues

SUISUN CITY, Calif. - A contractor working for Travis Air Force Base has begun excavating soil near the site of a fuel pipeline leak that occurred nearly two years ago.

Working for the Air Force under guidance from Solano County, the contractor will excavate a trench approximately 10 feet wide by 60 feet long to a depth of 12 feet on the shoulder of Highway 12 near Lawler Ranch Parkway.

The soil is being hauled to a certified hazardous waste facility out of the area.

The work is expected to continue through October 26.

No traffic disruptions or public safety hazards are expected related to the current work.

For more information, please contact Merrie Schilter-Lowe at Travis Air Force Base Public Affairs at 424-4011.

Travis AFB Plans Mass Launch Drill for Monday

TRAVIS AFB, Calif. – It won’t be Santa’s reindeer streaking across Northern California skies Dec. 21 but tankers and cargo aircraft from Travis. The base will conduct its first-ever “mass” aircraft launch starting around 10 a.m.

Travis will be launching up to six KC-10s, two C-17 Globemasters and a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft in succession. Once airborne, the aircraft will fly in formation then separate to fly normal low-level and air refueling routes. At that point, residents should not notice anything different than on a normal day of flying, said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Cooper, 60th Operations Squadron commander.

"This ‘mass’ launch will give the 60th and 349th Air Mobility Wing’s operations, maintenance and support folks a chance to train together on a larger scale than normal,” said Colonel Cooper. The maintenance squadron rarely gets the opportunity to generate, launch and recover so many aircraft at one time, he said.

More than 330 training events will be conducted during the flights. The 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis will control the C-17 aircraft during landing exercises.

The 60th AMW is the largest air mobility organization in the Air Force and handles more cargo and passengers than any other U.S. military terminal. The wing operates and maintains C-5 and C-17 transport aircraft along with KC-10 aerial refueling aircraft that can fly peacetime and combat support missions anywhere in the world as directed by the Department of Defense.

Local Bald Eagles

I was perusing the Suisun Wildlife Center web site recently when I noticed a terrific little link to a bunch of photos of a bald eagle hunting in a pond near Travis Air Force Base.

The photos are terrific (I sampled one at right) but the information on the page was wonderful! >>Click here for more!>>

It's great to know that our area is becoming a habitat for our national bird!

Stop by the Suisun Wildlife Center any day to visit the resident animals native to the Suisun Marsh and environs.

Fuel Leak Cleanup in Progress

The Air Force has located and repaired a fuel line leak along Highway 12, and officials expect any residual fuel that escaped to be cleaned up this spring.

Air Force Lt. Col. Wade Lawrence gave the Suisun City Council an update on Tuesday regarding the status of the remediation resulting from the small fuel leak discovered in a Travis Air Force Base pipeline last week.

An AT&T subcontractor detected the odor of jet fuel in an underground utility vault along Highway 12 last week. The Suisun City Fire Department responded to the scene and verified the finding. Firefighters secured the area, and notified various officials, including Travis Air Force Base, Solano County and California Fish and Game.

Air Force personnel arrived on scene quickly and identified a small leak in a valve on a drain pipe attached to the pipeline, which is owned and operated by the Air Force. Travis engineers called a private environmental contractor to the scene to help contain and control seeping fuel. There was no risk to public health or safety, and the fuel did not compromise either the drinking water system or nearby sensitive environmental habitats.

A small amount of fuel was detected in the storm drain system along Lawler Ranch Parkway. Because this storm drain empties directly into the Suisun Marsh, extreme caution was used to control any possible migration of fuel into this sensitive environmental area. Lt. Col. Lawrence noted that no fuel was detected in the Marsh.

Environmental crews remained in the area 24 hours a day to remove all water from the storm drain system to ensure the protection of the Marsh.

A total of 175 gallons of fuel that leaked from the valve was collected and hauled away for disposal. Travis engineers plugged the valve to seal off any further leaks. The pipeline was pressured tested three times last Thursday. No leaks in the system were found. Environmental specialists continue to monitor test holes in the area for signs of fuel migrating through the soil.

Travis Air Force Base officials are working in cooperation with the Solano County Environmental Health Department to remove any fuel remaining in the soil as a result of this leak. Lt. Col. Lawrence expects all work at the site to be completed in May.

Lawler Ranch Air Force Fuel Line Update

We are providing this update to keep the community informed regarding continuing work being conducted along Lawler Ranch Parkway related to a fuel pipeline leak discovered on Tuesday.

Overnight Tuesday, environmental contractors working for Travis Air Force Base flushed the storm drains along Lawler Ranch Parkway to remove a small amount of residual fuel that had entered the system. Because this storm drain empties into Suisun Marsh at Johnston Way and rain is in the short-term forecast, additional precautions are being used to ensure there is no possible damage to the Suisun Marsh as a result of this incident.

Because some rain water is continuing to percolate into the storm drain from the surrounding soils, crews will continue to be on the scene on a 24-hour basis for the next several days removing all water from the storm drain. This is being done as an environmental precaution only. There is no public safety risk or any problem with the drinking water in the area. The concern is focused on preventing the possibility of any residual fuels from reaching the Suisun Marsh.

Environmental crews will remain on the scene to monitor the situation and respond as changes in the situation may require.

Travis Air Force Base officials are preparing a plan with local and state regulatory agencies to permanently fix the valve leak.

We will continue to update this blog as information is available. You may subscribe to automatic updates to this noticing system by entering your e-mail address in the box in the left column. You may discontinue that subscription at any time. We do not utilize your personal information for any other purpose.

Suisun City Crews Assist Air Force with Fuel Line Leak

FUEL LEAK DISCOVERED AND CONTAINED HIGHWAY 12 AT LAWLER RANCH PARKWAY

Suisun City staff assisted Travis Air Force Base officials control a small fuel line leak discovered on Tuesday by local contractors working near the intersection of Highway 12 and Lawler Ranch Parkway.

City Fire Department, Police Department and Public Works had crews standing by to assist the Air Force with the leak in military fuel line. There was determined to be no threat to public safety, local water supplies nor local waterways as a result of this leak. Some material entered the storm drain system, but measures were taken to control the fuel and prevent it from entering any wetlands areas.

Environmental contractors working for Travis Air Force Base were expected to work late into the night hours flushing storm drains in the area to remove any residual fuel ahead of expected rain on Wednesday.

Travis Air Force Base released the following statement regarding the incident:

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A fuel leak was discovered in a pipeline off Travis Air Force Base near the intersection of Highway 12 and Lawler Ranch Road Feb. 24.

The pipeline leak was discovered at approximately noon by local contractors working near the intersection.

The eight-inch, low-pressure pipeline, owned by Travis, delivers JP8 fuel to the base. Travis engineers are working in conjunction with local authorities to determine the exact origin of the leak.

“The leak poses no threat to the public,” said Lt. Col. Wade Lawrence, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. “Members of the 60th CES continue working with the Suisun City officials and state and county authorities to mitigate any adverse environmental impact.”

The incident remains under investigation and more details will be released as soon as they become available.

We will keep you posted on any updates to the situation in the coming days.