US Forest Service mobilizes more air tankers to assist with wildfire suppression

The U.S. Forest Service reported Sunday that it’s taking actions to continue to maintain adequate air tanker capability by mobilizing four Department of Defense C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Colorado and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest.   

MAFFS are portable fire retardant delivery systems that can be inserted into military C-130 aircraft to convert them into large airtankers when needed. Military C-130s equipped with MAFFS can drop up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on wildfires. They can discharge their entire load in under five seconds or make variable drops.

Two of the MAFFS will be provided by the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and two of the MAFFS will be provided by the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne. They will be based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and are expected to be available to fly wildfire suppression missions by no later than Tuesday, June 26.

“We are mobilizing MAFFS to ensure that we continue to have adequate air tanker capability as we experience very challenging wildfire conditions in Colorado and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Maintaining adequate aerial firefighting capability, with now 21 large air tankers and over 300 helicopters, is critical to provide support to, and enhance the safety of, the firefighters on the ground who are working so hard to suppress these wildfires.”      

Airtankers are used in wildfire suppression to deliver fire retardant to reduce the intensity and slow the growth of wildfires so that firefighters on the ground can construct containment lines safely, which is how wildfires are suppressed. Fire retardant is not typically used to suppress wildfires directly.

Professional fire managers decide whether to use airtankers to deliver fire retardant, and where to use them, based on the objectives they have established to manage wildfires and the strategies they are using to achieve them. Airtankers are not requested for all wildfires.

The MAFFS program is a 40-year long joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Defense. The U.S. Forest Service owns the MAFFS equipment and supplies the retardant, while the DoD provides the C-130 aircraft, pilots, and maintenance and support personnel to fly the missions.

The role of MAFFS, as outlined in an agreement between the DoD and the U.S. Forest Service, is to provide a surge capability that can be used to boost wildfire suppression efforts when commercial airtankers are fully committed or not readily available.

With the MAFFS mobilizations, the U.S. Forest Service will have 16 large airtankers and one very large airtanker available for wildfire suppression and will have the capability to mobilize an additional 9 large airtankers.       

The U.S. Forest Service has a total of eight MAFFS systems ready for operational use, plus one spare.

Military installations in Wyoming, North Carolina, California, and Colorado provide C-130s to fly MAFFS missions.

Specifically, the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne; the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, Charlotte; the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, Port Hueneme; and the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

In 2011, MAFFS were activated several times to support fires in Mexico, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. This is the first time MAFFS have been activated in 2012. From 2002 to 2011, military C-130s with MAFFS systems dropped a total of approximately 7.7 million gallons of retardant on wildfires.

Each year, an average of more than 75,000 wildfires burn an average of about 7 million acres of land in the United States.

Firefighters contain four acre blaze in Clearlake

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A fire that broke out in Clearlake early Sunday afternoon was contained to four acres thanks to a quick response by firefighters.

The fire, reported at around 1 p.m., was located off of Eastlake Drive near Pomo Elementary School, according to Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta.

Sapeta said the fire was attributed to someone mowing grass in the area.

Lake County Fire, Cal Fire and Northshore Fire responded, with a total of seven engines, a dozer, two crews, two water tenders, a Cal Fire helicopter and three battalion chiefs, according to Sapeta.

Once the helicopter began water drops, crews were able to quickly put a ring around the fire, Sapeta said.

He estimated it took only about 10 minutes to contain the fire, but an hour of overhaul and heavy mop up was required.

At one point a structure was threatened but ultimately it was not damaged, he said.

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Lake County Amateur Radio Society participates in ham radio Worldwide Field Day

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Participating for its 31st year, the Lake County Amateur Radio Society once again took part in the Worldwide Field Day.

The event began at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs through 11 a.m. Sunday with a mobile field operations center atop Vista Point in Lakeport.

The public is encouraged to visit and learn about amateur shortwave radio, also know has ham radio.

“We do it for fun, but we also provide a valuable service to the community,” said Tom Patton, a member of the group.

Jeff Plank, president of the Lake County Amateur Radio Society, said the club’s members provide supplemental communications not only to emergency responders but also for events where other forms of communication are impossible – for instance, in areas without cell phone signals or at large events without enough personnel.

Some of the events and organizations they help provide communications assistance to include the Lake County Fair, Konocti Challenge, Davis Double Century Bike Club, Lake County Public Health, Red Cross, area hospitals and more.

“Wherever help is needed, we will be there,” said Plank.

The annual field day allows members of the Lake County Amateur Radio Society to demonstrate to the public what amateur radio is all about, allowing people to learn and try out the mobile equipment – some of which can be set up in less than a minute or carried like a cell phone – and explain the importance of the equipment in emergency situations.

During local events, amateur radio operators can communicate with one another as well as emergency responders – but they can also communicate across long distances.

“Tonight, with our battery-operated equipment and mobile antennas, we've been in contact with other operators on the East Coast, including Vermont and Pennsylvania,” Patton said.

For more information, you can stop by Vista Point in Lakeport, in the parking lot of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, before 11 a.m. Sunday, or contact Arland Souza of the Nice Amateur Radio Club at 707-349-1519.