Cheyenne’s Air National Guard Helps Combat Colorado Wildfires

The wildfires in in Northern Colorado are getting a little out of control.  One Air National Guard C-130 crew will be dispatched July 5, out of Cheyenne.

The aircraft will be housed at the Peterson Air Force Base in Fort Collins, CO, and will be equipped with the U.S. Forest Service’s  Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System.

Our Wyoming crew will not be alone on this mission. They will be joined by three other MAFFS-equipped C-130s, two will be from the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing and the other one will be from the Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing.

So the mission will go like this, MAFFS will make their way into the sky above the burning areas. MAFFS is self-contained aerial firefighting system, owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

The systems can dispense 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than 5 seconds.  That covers about a quarter of a mile by 100 feet wide. Once they release the substance, the MAFFS can be recharged in under 12 minutes.