AEG launches first California firefighting missions

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 302nd Air Expeditionary Group
CHINO, Calif. --  After the smoke cleared, allowing visibility for flying operations, C-130 Hercules aircraft armed with modular aircraft firefighting systems took off in the afternoon of June 26, taking the fight to California's vicious wildfires.

The aircraft, assigned to the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group based at this northern California airport, are deployed here in support of California wildfires raging throughout the state. Due to the severity of the fires, military support was eventually requested to aid civilian tankers and fire crews on the ground in an effort to gain a foothold on nature's fury.

With flights now active, aircraft are launching multiple missions to the Whiskeytown area of California where as of 7 a.m. June 26, five fires had engulfed 3,500 acres, was zero percent contained and was threatening more than 10 commercial properties.

Commenting on operations kicking off, Lt. Col. Roger Williams, 145th Air Expeditionary Squadron command said "This is outstanding!"

"We're trained and ready to fight the fires. No one likes sitting around waiting for the smoke to clear."

When asked about the support Airmen were providing to the protection of Whiskeytown, Colonel Williams expressed his hope that his C-130s were about to stop the fires from doing any more damage.

"With our operations in full swing," Colonel Williams said, "the Air Guard and the Air Force Reserve are working hard for the people of California."

As of 5:30 p.m. June 26, the 302nd AEG, made up of Total Force units from both the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, have flown five missions and have dropped more than 135,000 pounds of slurry, a fire retardant used for suppressing fires.

Flight operations are expected to resume June 27.