USAF Fire fighting in California

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Some politicians complain about a free lunch!

All this from the AF Daily report 29 Oct 07

Not Fast Enough: At least one lawmaker is criticizing US Northern Command and the Air Force for not responding more quickly to the California wildfires with firefighting tankers. The San Francisco Chroniclereports that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) wants to "know why those C-130s were located so far from California and so far from the front lines." The Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130s came from Colorado, Wyoming, and North Carolina. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, NORTHCOM boss, told reporters that the C-130s had responded as quickly as possible and that it was the "extraordinary" winds that were to blame, driving the wildfires "beyond all models." However, Renuart told the Associated Press that the Air Force must move more quickly to outfit California Air National Guard C-130Js with MAFFS. Apparently, adapting the new J model to carry the US Forest Service MAFFS units is not easy, and then the service must test them and train the crews. He told AP, "Hopefully, because of what we've learned, we will be able to move it along more rapidly." Rohrabacher says the service has had four years.

From the MAFFS Units: The Wyoming and North Carolina Air National Guard crews flying MAFFS-equipped C-130s (see above) to help fight the California wildfires last week flew 12 missions, dropping 32,400 gallons of fire retardant, according to an Oct. 26 report by TSgt. Mike Smith. The high winds that spread the wildfires also hampered their operations because the winds disperse the retardant before it hits the ground. Joining the ANG crews were Air Force Reserve Command airmen from Colorado. Each group contributed two MAFFS-equipped C-130s and backup aircrews. Learning to fly the firefighting missions is not easy, as 1st Lt. Jody Ritchie reports, first there's the low altitude, and then there's the violent updrafts and downdrafts caused by the fire, not to mention the aircraft handling variations as it sheds thousands of pounds of fire retardant. Nonetheless, Lt. Col. Dave Condit, AFRC's MAFFS coordinator, says, "We've got people that wait for years to get an opportunity to get certified for this mission."

More Fire Support: The Air Force also tapped the California Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field, Calif., to provide two HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters and air, rescue, and maintenance crews. They flew to Los Alamitos Army Airfield, to provide search and rescue support. And, Air Mobility Command engaged its 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., to manage movement of about 103 tons of equipment to March ARB, Calif., where the Army set up a command center. AMC also dispatched 25 aeromedical evacuation personnel. It placed airlift and air refueling aircraft on alert at several bases. Air Force Space Command provided firefighters from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to work alongside civil crews.

A First for Global Hawk: The Air Force put its high flying Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to work for the first-time in the US for a civil support mission when it aided California firefighting efforts, according to a US Northern Command release. The RQ-4 Global Hawk was not the only Air Force ISR asset; the Air Force also engaged its high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. Both ISR aircraft flew out of Beale AFB, Calif. They were joined by a Navy P-3 flying out of NAS North Island, Calif. Imagery from these aircraft provided firefighters with near-real-time images to aid in tracking the fires and for humanitarian support

[Victory103]

Thanks for the info, wanted to see the boys over at Peterson AFB (KCOS) get into the action. I'm normally stationed nearby @ KFCS.

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About the MAFFS: Air Force North has reported in an Oct. 29 release that the six Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130s detailed to support California wildfire operations have flown a total of 64 missions, dropping more than 180,600 gallons of fire retardant. (An earlier report cited considerably fewer sorties.) And, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has weighed in on the issue of whether the fire-fighting tankers were late to arrive and go to work, saying in an Oct. 27 press conference, "If the federal government didn't respond fast enough with their airplanes, ... we will go into that and fix that right away."

From AF Daily Report 30 Oct 07