Colorado: 302nd Airlift Wing MAFFS crews to fight ongoing #wildland fires

Monday, June 25, 2012

Colorado: 302nd Airlift Wing MAFFS crews to fight ongoing #wildland fires

Air Force Reserve Crews Join Fight Against Colorado Fires

Air Force reservists assigned to the 302nd Airlift Wing load a U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System unit onto a C-130 Hercules at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., June 24, 2012. The 302nd Airlift Wing has been tasked by the National Interagency Fire Center to support wildland aerial firefighting missions in the Rocky Mountain area. U.S. Air Force photo by Ann Skarban

302nd Airlift Wing News Release

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., June 25, 2012 - The Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing here received word this morning that it is tasked to provide support to the ongoing Colorado wildland fires.
The request for assistance from the National Interagency Fire Center to the Defense Department requested four C-130 air tankers capable of transporting and employing the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, along with appropriate command, control and support personnel to assist in firefighting. The 302nd Airlift Wing and the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing are supporting the effort.

"Since they've started, we have been monitoring the fires and have had our aircrews, aircraft and the MAFFS systems in a state of readiness anticipating a possible tasking from the U.S. Forest Service," said Air Force Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, 302nd Airlift Wing chief of aerial firefighting. "As soon as we received the formal request this morning, the wing's aerial porters and C-130 loadmasters loaded the U.S. Forest Service MAFFS units. In addition, MAFFS-qualified aircrews are on standby. We are ready and will fly once we receive our launch order."

While the 302nd Airlift Wing MAFFS crews and aircraft have recently supported wildland fires in Texas and in southwestern U.S., fire support in the Rocky Mountain region will have special meaning, Thompson said.

"As the only Air Force Reserve wing in the United States trained and qualified to fly the MAFFS mission, it is especially meaningful for the men and women of this wing to use their specialized training to help right here at home," he said.

Once the launch order is received, the aircraft will provide aerial firefighting missions supporting the U.S. Forest Service. MAFFS-equipped aircraft and crews are expected to fly missions from here as soon as tomorrow, weather conditions permitting and as directed by the U.S. Forest Service incident commander, officials said.

The MAFFS units are owned by the U.S. Forest Service, one of several federal and state government agencies and organizations with roles in wildland fire suppression that make up the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

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CCalifornia Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Monday, June 25, 2012