Military aircraft provide surge capability for wildfire response

A C-130 Hercules from the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing equipped with the modular airborne firefighting system takes off from McClellan Airfield, Calif., on a firefighting support mission. A continuing heat wave and an ongoing need for aircraft to support ground firefighters will likely keep Department of Defense aircraft very busy for the foreseeable future in support of the national wildland firefighting effort. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Hector Garcia)

AMC-gained units assist in battling California wildfires

Published July 14, 2008
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Aircraft from four AMC-gained units -- Air Guard and Air Force Reserve units that would report directly to AMC if they're mobilized for combat -- are continuing to assist efforts to bring more than 100 wildfires in California under control.

The units include three Air National Guard wings -- the 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C.; the 146th Airlift Wing from Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Ca.; and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo. -- and one Air Force Reserve wing -- the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

To help, the units' C-130s are equipped with U.S. Forest Service modular airborne firefighting systems, or MAFFS, which enable the planes to drop fire retardant. The aircraft are temporarily based out of Sacramento, but also frequent the Channel Islands airfield, because it is closer to the majority of the wildfires, which allows them to make more drops each day.

To date, the units have flown more than 300 sorties and dropped nearly 1 million gallons of retardant.

The 145th, 146th, 153rd and the 302nd are part of a U.S. Northern Command support effort to the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE and the National Interagency Fire Center.

USNORTHCOM continues to closely monitor the wildfires in anticipation of additional requests for assistance from local, state and federal authorities.

(Adapted from a U.S. Army North Public Affairs News Release)