As smoke from the Madre Fire continues to drift over northern Santa Barbara County, a small operation just miles from downtown Santa Maria became one of the firefight’s most important assets: the Santa Maria Air Tanker Base.
In total, the agency has delivered a little over half a million gallons of retardant.
The Madre Fire ignited on July 2 near Gypsum Canyon and Cuyama Highway, west of New Cuyama…