Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Welcome! We hope that you enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribe purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribe purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for signing in! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Sunny. High around 85F. Winds light and variable..
Clear skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Two MAFFS-equipped C-130s from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing and the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing prepare to launch on a fire suppression mission at the Boise Tanker Base, Idaho, Saturday, Sept. 10. Last year, MAFFS C-130s operated out of McClellan Air Base in Sacramento. In previous fire seasons, MAFFS-equipped C-130s have also been stationed at Fresno Air Attack Base.
A C-130 Hercules equipped with MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) drops retardant on the Spring Fire near Fort Garland, Colorado, July 4, 2018.
Two MAFFS-equipped C-130s from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing and the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing prepare to launch on a fire suppression mission at the Boise Tanker Base, Idaho, Saturday, Sept. 10. Last year, MAFFS C-130s operated out of McClellan Air Base in Sacramento. In previous fire seasons, MAFFS-equipped C-130s have also been stationed at Fresno Air Attack Base.
A C-130 Hercules equipped with MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) drops retardant on the Spring Fire near Fort Garland, Colorado, July 4, 2018.
People in Tuolumne County who remember the 2013 Rim Fire may recall seeing prop-driven military C-130s dropping water and retardant on the massive megablaze that started 20 miles east of Sonora and eventually scorched more than 400 square miles of the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park.
The massive, four-engine, converted cargo planes were fighting California fires for decades before the Rim Fire, and they have been fighting many of the Golden State’s largest blazes since then. As the 2022 fire season continues, C-130s may be coming to a fire near you, again.
The Forest Service and the Air National Guard are touting the return of two Department of Defense C-130s equipped with MAFFS — modular airborne firefighting systems — to Boise Airtanker Base in Idaho, and they were fighting fires in the Pacific Northwest this past weekend. In previous fire seasons, MAFFS-equipped C-130s have operated out of McClellan Air Base in Sacramento and Fresno Air Attack Base when needed.
Stanton Florea with Forest Service fire communications said this week the balance of the national air tanker fleet is available for the 64,000-acre Mosquito Fire in El Dorado and Placer counties. C-130s had not been assigned to the Mosquito Fire as of Thursday. The bulk of fixed-wing firefighting aircraft working the Mosquito Fire are based at McClellan for the time being, Florea and a public information officer for the Mosquito Fire said.
The MAFFS packages that fit into C-130s can look like the latest in modern aviation technology. Since 2009, each of the latest Forest Service-owned MAFFS units have consisted of a single-tank platform with a self-contained system to pressurize the retardant tank, according to the U.S. Air Force.
Each MAFFS unit can fit into a C-130 Hercules without structural modification to the airframe. It takes about two hours to load and install. MAFFS units can drop water or fire retardant. A typical MAFFS unit can weigh 14,600 pounds empty, though unit weights can vary, according to an August 2019 Forest Service MAFFS operating plan.
A loaded MAFFS unit carries 3,000 gallons weighing 28,000 pounds and a C-130 crew can discharge it all in less than 10 seconds. A C-130 can paint a stripe of retardant 60 to 100 feet wide and a quarter-mile long off one load. Once back on the ground for reload, ground and air crews can refill a MAFFS unit and have the C-130 airborne again in less than 20 minutes.
The MAFFS program dates back to the early 1970s, when the Forest Service partnered with the Department of Defense to try to create another airborne tool to fight fires, especially in the western U.S. The Forest Service owns the MAFFS equipment and supplies the fire retardant. The Defense Department provides C-130H and C-130J aircraft, flight crews, maintenance personnel, and support personnel to fly the missions.
The workhorse C-130 dates back more than 70 years to 1951, when the Air Force sought designs for an aircraft capable of hauling large, bulky loads, including artillery and tanks, over long distances. It had to be able to land in tight spaces, slow to 125 knots — under 144 miles per hour — for paratroop drops, and fly, if need be, with one engine.
The first production model was a C-130A, with four Allison T56 turboprop engines and deliveries began in December 1956. The latest C-130 to be produced, the C-130J, came in February 1999. C-130Js sport six-bladed composite propellers coupled to Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 turboprop engines, yielding significant performance improvements over all previous models.
Having military C-130s that can be converted into firefighting tanker planes provides a critical surge capability, especially when fire seasons turn historically bad like they have in recent years, Forest Service staff said this week.
According to National Interagency Fire Center staff in Boise, on Sept. 6, national wildland fire preparedness was elevated to 4 out of 5, indicating increased wildfire activity across the U.S. The center has staff from the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Fire Administration, and the National Association of State Foresters.
Contact Guy McCarthy at gmccarthy@uniondemocrat.net or (209) 770-0405. Follow him on Twitter at @GuyMcCarthy.