Department of Defense activates eight C-130 aircraft to assist with Los Angeles County firefighting
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – On Thursday, U.S. Northern Command activated eight C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Aerial Fire Fighting Systems and their personnel to support firefighting efforts across Los Angeles County.
The eight aircraft and their assigned personnel will move from their home stations to the Channel Islands and some will be ready as soon as Friday, Jan. 10, detailed the U.S. Northern Command in a press release Thursday.
"U.S. Northern Command immediately took action as we watched and learned more about the fires in the Los Angeles area. Providing support to civil authorities is a valued part of our homeland defense mission. We’re well-practiced and in position to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Interagency Firefighting Center (NIFC), and the state of California to assist the many citizens in need," said General Gregory Guillot, Commander of U.S. Northern Command.
The Modular Aerial Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130 aircraft come from the 146th Airlift Wing already at the Channel Islands, the 152nd Airlift Wing and 192nd Airlift Squadron out of Nevada, the 153rd Airlift Wing and 187th Airlift Squadron in Wyoming, and the 302nd Airlift Wing and 731st Airlift Squadron from Colorado shared the U.S. Northern Command.
The MAFFS units fit inside C-130 airplanes and do not require any structural modification, allowing the units to be loaded onto the military aircraft in about two hours detailed the U.S. Air Force.
The image below, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Roy A. Santana, shows a C-130 Hercules Modular Airborne Firefighting System aircraft number Five.
According to the U.S. Air Force, each wing is required to have five certified crews for each MAFFS unit.
The use of modular aerial fire fighting systems (MAFFS) began in 1971 as a joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense to integrate military air tankers into a national firefighting response explained the U.S. Northern Command.
March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County has been designated as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Incident Support Base to support disaster operations in the area added the U.S. Northern Command.
The U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility is detailed in the map below from the U.S. Northern Command's website.