SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A modular airborne fire fighting system (MAFFS) equipped C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group flying out of McClellan Airfield here dropped its millionth gallon of fire retardant on California wildfires July 11.
A MAFFS-equipped C-130 from the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard dropped the millionth gallon of fire retardant on the Motion fire located within the Shasta Complex located in northern California's Shasta and Trinity counties. Flying operations began June 26.
Aircraft mission commander for the flight that dropped the millionth gallon, Maj. Justin Walrath of the 153AW said it is exciting being part of the MAFFS missions and a good number of the MAFFS flights have focused on the wild fires in Northern California.
"We've been fighting most of the fires up north around the Lake Shasta area," Walrath said. "There is a lot of smoke and fires, lot of different lightning strikes up there that have caused lots of fires up there."
Major Walrath said he considers it an honor to be flying with the Air National Guard and participating in MAFFS operations helping to fight California's wildfires.
"I am hoping that the fires get put out as fast as we can get them out so we can save peoples houses and land," Walrath said.
The 302nd AEG is a part of a unified military effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center. It includes MAFFS-equipped C-130s and U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Reserve medium- and heavy-lift helicopters.