SACRAMENTO, Calif., This week, less than 30 fires continue to burn uncontained in California, and incident commanders are confident that resources on the ground may be enough to contain them.
So, the job of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group (AEG), which consists of eight Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS)-capable C-130 aircraft from the Air Force, six Marine Corps helicopters and two Navy Reserve helicopters, has moved to a wait-and-see status.
"We are happy to have been a part of this team, as always," said Lt. Col. Mark Christian with the 145th Airlift Wing of the North Carolina Air National Guard.
Heading up the Charlotte, N.C., contingent this week, Christian says the "lion's share" of the effort is currently being done on the ground.
This waiting period may be difficult for aircrews and maintainers who are now used to flying several sorties daily, but the 302nd AEG's aircraft and crews will stay in Sacramento for a few more days even if they are not flying.
"We don't want to release aircraft to their home states too early since the possibility fires may jump the lines we've established or a change in the weather might create a more serious situation requiring an air response," said Darlene Mullins, the MAFFS liaison officer from the U.S. Forest Service.
"Moving [aircraft and personnel] around is expensive, so we don't want to waste money when it is clear a need may continue to exist," Mullins said.
She said once a determination is made that ground fire fighting resources have been successful in containing the fires, the release of aircraft and crews will happen in a planned, staged drawdown.
Weather conditions have helped control the fires this week, but Mullins and Mike Padilla, the chief of aviation for CAL FIRE, fears that weather conditions can quickly change to negatively impact the fires.
Mullins said she believes the proactive actions of the 302nd AEG Airmen, Marines and Sailors, who worked with the other federal and state agencies involved in responding to fires, helped quell this year's fires more rapidly than in past years, saving more land and property from devastation.
MAFFS operations in California have fought more than 2,000 fires that have ravaged the California wilderness since operations began June 26. The men and women of the 302nd AEG have conducted more than 980 air drops, dropping in excess of 1.3 million gallons of fire retardant around the fire perimeters to help fire fighters on the ground contain and control them.
The 302nd AEG C-130 aircraft units include three Air National Guard units, the 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C., the 146th Airlift Wing from Channel Islands, Calif., and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo., and one Air Force Reserve unit -- the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.