PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Eight Department of Defense C-130 aircraft equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) and under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command are assisting in the efforts to control fires in the Rocky Mountain region and western United States at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. Four of these MAFFS aircraft arrived yesterday to provide additional resources to the Incident Commanders.
As of early Sunday morning July 1,2012, DoD aircraft have conducted 73 air drops and discharged more than 190,000 gallons of retardant.
Specific information by fire is below:
Waldo Canyon, CO: (no change) -- 50 air drops -- App. 133,500 gallons of retardant
Flagstaff, CO: (no change) -- Five (5) air drops -- App. 13,200 gallons of retardant
Arapaho, WY: -- Twelve (12) air drops -- App. 26,500 gallons of retardant
White Draw, SD: -- Two (2) air drops -- App. 5,500 gallons of retardant
Ash Creek, MT: -- Three (3) air drops -- App. 8,632 gallons of retardant
Oil Creek, WY: -- One (1) air drop -- App. 2,900 gallons of retardant
The supporting units are the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, CO, the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne, WY, the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, from Charlotte, NC, and the 146th Airlift Wing, Air National Guard Base, Channel Islands CA.
Content, including the most recent video, news and images in regards to the 2012 wild fires can be found at the following link on the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) site.
http://www.dvidshub.net/feature/coloradofires2012#.T-tCaxdtaSo#ixzz1z1YLW4mg
For more information, contact USNORTHCOM Public Affairs at 719-554-6889 or 719-304-6097.
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