MAFFS crews eager to fight fire another day

Published June 28, 2012
By Tech. Sgt. Daniel Butterfield
153rd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A heavy smell of smoke and a thick haze greeted members of the 731st Expeditionary Air Squadron as they arrived on the flightline during the early morning June 27 at Peterson Air Force Base, Calif., to prepare the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130s for another day of aerial fire-fighting. The day before saw significant MAFFS activity as the four C-130s, two from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing and two from the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing dropped 65,000 gallons of Phos-Chek fire retardant in the Rocky Mountain region.

Despite such an active day with so many gallons dropped, the mood was heavy as many of those involved in the operation were locally stationed Airmen who knew friends and family members who had to be evacuated the day before. But even with their thoughts on those going through incredible hardships, the members of the 731st EAS were eager to get back into the fight.

"It's a little stressful. Some of them have evacuees in their home," said Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, 302nd AW Aerial Firefighting chief. "Some are worried how far the fire is going to go, if it's going to get close to their home, but they are dealing with it."

"We feel almost helpless," said Staff Sgt. Raymond Durban, 302nd Maintenance Group avionics technician, who is assisting with the refilling of the MAFFS units and knew co-workers who had to evacuate. "But we are bearing down and ready to go this morning. We are just waiting for the go-ahead from the (U.S.) Forest Service."

The Waldo Canyon fire grew in size by thousands of acres yesterday due to shifting and increased winds and despite the best efforts of the C-130 aircrews and the entire unified command team.

"We've dropped on a lot of really big fires, but nothing we've seen like this as far as close proximity to major cities so you have a little more sense of urgency that we've got to get these drops and get them right the first time," said Maj. Neil Harlow, 153rd Airlift Wing pilot. "The smoke, especially down at the Waldo Canyon fire has made it difficult to see the targets."

The first MAFFS-equipped C-130 left Peterson AFB today at 9:30 a.m. to again work on the Waldo Canyon fire. They are expected to make drops throughout the day.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

In addition to the 153rd and 302nd Airlift Wings, two other Air National Guard units, the 146th AW, Channel Islands, Calif., and the 145th AW, Charlotte, N.C., possess the ability to assist federal, state and local wildland fire fighting agencies and organizations with MAFFS.

The MAFFS program is a joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense.