California IN BRIEF : OJAI : Removal of Plane Wrecks Postponed

Plans to remove the wreckage of 60 planes--including pieces of two dozen World War II-era aircraft--from northern Ventura County forests have been put on hold because of complaints from airplane historians, U.S. Forest Service officials said. Al Hess, lands officer for the Ojai Ranger District, said aviation archivists are requesting that federal officials complete an extensive survey of the historic planes in the Los Padres National Forest before allowing a Hawaiian salvage firm, Wreckfinders, to recover the downed craft. As a result, removal efforts might not start for at least several months, if at all, Hess said. “The bottom line is people feel these airplanes have historic significance,” he said. “We need to consult with a bunch of people to see which ones should be removed.”