PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – Federal assistance is being provided in the effort against fires currently burning in Southern Colorado. The following support is being provided through formal requests for forces, immediate response authority or mutual aid agreements:
U.S. Air Force Academy:
- Support to the incident management team
- 2 trucks and 9 firefighters
Peterson Air Force Base & Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station:
- 1 Type 1 pumper
- 11 firefighters
- Shelter for Department of Defense personnel on Peterson AFB.
Buckley Air Force Base:
- 5,000 gallon water tender + 2 person crew
Fort Carson:
- 9 firefighters with 2 trucks and 1 water tender
- 4 helicopters (2 x UH60 and 2 x CH47) providing bambi drops on the fire
- 4 bulldozers on the scene cutting firebreaks on the north side of the fire; pending wind shifts from the south they will stay on station
- The U.S. Air Force Academy is the forward air refueling point
302nd Airlift Wing:
- 2 C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS)
Additionally, the Colorado National Guard is providing:
- 40 personnel at security checkpoints in the Black Forest area
- National Guard Communications Element (8 personnel)
- High-clearance trucks and water tenders (13 personnel)
- 3 UH-60s with bambi buckets
- 1 LUH-72 Lakota equipped for aerial firefighting coordination
USNORTHCOM is the joint combatant command formed in the wake of the Sept.11, 2001 terrorist attacks to provide homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities. USNORTHCOM provides DOD capabilities for disaster response operations in support of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Interagency Fire Center, and state and local officials.