The USDA Forest Service has activated four Department of Defense C-130 aircraft to assist with increased wildfire activity across the West. These planes, including one from Nevada, are equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), which can drop up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in less than 10 seconds across a quarter-mile line.
The system slides into the back of the military aircraft, and retardant is released through a nozzle on the rear left side. The national MAFFS program consists of eight C-130 aircraft.
Forest Service officials said the C-130s can be converted into air tankers to provide a critical “surge” capability that can be used to bolster wildfire suppression efforts when commercial air tankers are not readily available.
The Forest Service said one C-130 will come from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing at Reno, while the other aircraft will be supplied by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing; and the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing.
The National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level was elevated to 4 (out of 5) on July 10 because of the increased wildland fire activity across the United States. The level was raised by the National Multi-Agency Coordination Group, composed of wildland fire representatives from each wildland fire agency based at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, the nation’s support center for wildland firefighting.
The four C-130s will join the Forest Service and other agencies fighting wildfires across the West. They are initially working out of Channel Islands Air National Guard Station in Port Hueneme, California.
