Reserve MAFFS C-130s return to Colo. after battling nation's largest wildland fires in western U.S.

  • Published
  • By Ann Skarban
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130s from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing, aircrews and aircraft maintenance personnel returned here during the evening hours of Aug. 30 after providing support to U.S. Forest Service aerial fire fighting operations in the western United States in August.

The return of the Colorado-based MAFFS C-130s and approximately 30 Air Force Reservists was part of the normal duty rotation shared by the three Air National Guard wings and one Air Force Reserve wing that fly the MAFFS mission. At the end of August the U.S. Forest Service's aerial fire fighting requirement called for five MAFFS-equipped C-130s to be activated and stationed in California.

During the month of August the Reserve wing's MAFFS-equipped C-130s made 124 drops using just more than 335,000 gallons of retardant on fires in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and California. This included more than 50 drops on both the Beaver Creek fire, a large fire in eastern Idaho and the Rim fire, California's fourth largest fire in that state's history that also threatened Yosemite National Park. As of the end of August, the Rim fire was the largest wildland fire currently burning in the United States.

On Aug. 7, one 302nd Airlift Wing MAFFS-equipped C-130s, aircrew and approximately 10 support personnel departed Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. to join MAFFS operations at the Idaho tanker base located in the Boise, Idaho Airport. From Aug. 7 through Aug. 23 while operating out of Boise, Idaho one 302nd AW C-130 along with two MAFFS C-130s from the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard made retardant drops on more than a dozen fires in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada. Two MAFFS C-130s from the California Air National Guard's 146th AW were also activated during that timeframe and were stationed at the tanker base at their home base in Channel Islands, Calif.

"We used MAFFS primarily to aid in stopping fire progression toward structures in Greenhorn Canyon, Highway 75 corridor, Deer Creek and the Croy Canyon area," said Elizabeth Lund, U.S. Forest Service Incident Commander for the Beaver Creek, Idaho fire.

"Like other air tankers, MAFFS is an important tool in the fire fighters' box. With the aid of boots on the ground, retardant coats and cools down the fuels so that fire fighters can get into the area and construct a fireline to separate the fuels and stop progression of the spread," added Lund.

On Aug. 23 a second MAFFS C-130 from the 302nd Airlift Wing was added to the MAFFS available aerial resources fulfilling the U.S. Forest Services increased requirement from four MAFFS C-130s to five.

On Aug. 27 the U.S. Forest Service amended their earlier Request for Assistance, directing the three MAFFS C-130s, to include the two 302nd AW aircraft, relocate operations from Idaho to McClellan Airfield near Sacramento, California, moving all five of the MAFFS fire fighting resources closer to the Rim and Fish fires. The Rim fire had grown significantly burning more than 184 thousand acres of land and threated land and structures in Yosemite National Park. At that same time, the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group increased the national fire Preparedness Level to its highest point, PL-5. This was only the fifth time in the last ten years that PL-5 had been reached.

According to Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, chief of aerial fire fighting for the 302nd AW, "August was a somewhat typical month for the fire season. As the month progressed, fires spread in California also. This included the Rim fire which eventually used all the MAFFS activated for support. With a fire that grows so fast in such a short time, it sometimes seems impossible to stop. But once we began operations out of McClellan with full force committed to the Rim fire, it was like a construction project. Load after load of retardant was dropped to reinforce bulldozer lines and support the ground crews. We all were getting in as many drops as daylight allowed. After a few days of this the containment levels finally started going up. It's hard to see much difference made by one drop, but by the end of five days you could definitely see progress."

Recalling the Rim fire, 52nd Airlift Squadron commander and MAFFS-qualified C-130 navigator, Lt. Col. Jason Terry said, "It was definitely bigger than Olympus, Kelly Creek or Wild Gulch [Rifle, Colo.] fires. Based on the size of the smoke plume, from a distance, it was very reminiscent of the Black Forest fire. We could see it from 100 miles as the smoke was blown across the state. It was a very big fire with urban landscape intermingled," he said.

The Colorado MAFFS 2 and MAFFS 5 aircraft performed more than 50 drops on California's Rim fire. Describing MAFFS' integration in the aerial and overall fire fighting efforts Terry said, "It's an excellent team effort. We have the ability to stay involved with the lead pilot, additional radios on the aircraft allow us to listen into conversations with the lead plane and ground as well as allow those resources to communicate with us. It's a well orchestrated effort with different parts all playing their role to take on this real threat."

"Fire fighting is a very fluid and dynamic endeavor. The locations and intensities of fires change rapidly and MAFFS is required to react accordingly. Several times MAFFS systems had to be moved to other aircraft to accommodate new maintenance requirements. This requires a huge amount of work by maintenance and aerial port and they never batted an eye. They got the systems moved, accommodated short notice location changes, and kept the mission going," said Thompson.

To meet the needs of MAFFS operations, the aircraft maintainers worked a split shift operation. Basic post flight and preflights were worked nightly to ensure any aircraft discrepancies noted during that day's mission were corrected allowing the aircraft to be ready for the next day's missions. "The aircraft flew great every day, flying 16 of the 18 days deployed," said 302nd Maintenance Operations Flight superintendent, Chief Master Sgt. Mike Sanchez.

While the 302nd Airlift Wing rotated out of the overall MAFFS mission at the end of August as part of the normal operational rotation with the three other MAFFS C-130s wings, it will stand by for any new RFAs issued by the U.S. Forest Service in September.

"We know the fire season is far from over so although the MAFFS systems have been downloaded so the aircraft can be used for their normal mission, we will continue to be ready if called. The systems are fully functional and all other operations and support equipment is ready to go, added Thompson.

This year 302nd Airlift Wing MAFFS aircraft, aircrew and support personnel's season began on June 11 when the U.S. Forest Service requested assistance for the Black Forest fire in northern Colorado Springs. Since the June activation through Sept. 4 all MAFFS-equipped C-130s activated to include the 302nd AW C-130s flew a total of 572 missions, made a total of 535 drops using 1,375,981 gallons of retardant on fires in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and California during the 2013 fire season.

"MAFFS is a very gratifying mission. The days can be long, and high stress knowing people's homes and lives may be in jeopardy. But compared to other endeavors, the impact [of MAFFS' containment] can be seen in a relatively short period of time," said Terry.

As of Sept. 4, 2013 the National Interagency fire center reported a total of 35,430 wildland fires had burned nearly 3.9 million acres in the U.S., roughly half of the 2004 to 2013 average of 6.1 million acres burned.

The four C-130 Wings that perform the MAFFS mission, each providing two MAFFS-capable aircraft and the air and ground crews needed to operate them are the 145th AW, North Carolina Air National Guard; 146th AW, California Air National Guard; 153rd AW, Wyoming Air National Guard; and the 302nd AW, Air Force Reserve Command, in Colorado.