SACRAMENTO - Under orders from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a repaired jumbo-jetliner turned "supertanker" that required extensive repairs after a near crash has returned to fighting fires.

Skepticism about the converted DC-10 - a 31-year-old retired American Airlines plane - swelled after the close call June 25, when it grazed tree tops during a firestorm downdraft in Kern County.

The U.S. Forest Services refuses to use the plane, insisting that DC-10s are not suited for firefighting, but Cal Fire Aviation Chief Mike Padilla predicted Friday that the three-engine jumbo jet has a bright future.

"We love Tanker 910," Padilla said of the plane that was developed jointly by Cargo Conversions LLC in San Carlos and Oklahoma-based Omni Air International. "It's going to be part of everybody's firefighting tool.''

Cal Fire, however, has modified its rules on using the plane. For one, its operational altitude has been raised by about 100 feet, to 400 feet.

After being cleared by government inspectors, the tanker has been making one-hour round trips the last few days from its big base in Victorville to the "Zaca" forest fire. The wildfire has been burning since July 4 in the Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County.

Chewing its way toward Ventura County, the blaze has burned through more than 143,000 acres, or nearly 224 square miles.

The state reached agreement with the owner of Supertanker 910 in May to allow the state