On 10 November 2006 , TimberWest Forest Ltd. announced they were looking for buyers of the Mars . A condition of sale was that the purchaser would have to donate one plane back to Port Alberni when they were retired , as a historic attraction . The Maryland Aviation Museum and British Columbia Aviation Council initiated a joint effort to preserve the aircraft , one for display in Maryland and the other at the current location in Canada . On 13 April 2007 , TimberWest announced the sale of both aircraft to Coulson Forest Products , a local forestry company in Port Alberni , British Columbia . The two surviving tankers are presently operated by Coulson Flying Tankers and are based and maintained at Sproat Lake near Port Alberni . On 25 October 2007 , the '' Hawaii Mars '' ( " Redtail " ) arrived at Lake Elsinore in southern California , on a private contract , to assist with firefighting efforts at the California wildfires of October 2007 . Meanwhile , the '' Philippine Mars '' had been undergoing " extensive maintenance and renovation " and was expected to be ready to fly again by 2010 . , the '' Hawaii Mars '' was in service fighting the La Brea fire east of Santa Maria in Southern California
California wildfires of October 2007
October 2007 California wildfires
Martin JRM Mars