A C-130 aircraft equipped with a modular firefighting system drops retardant on a section of the Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colo., June 26, 2012. Four of these aircraft, assigned to the Air Force's 302nd and 153rd airlift wings, are helping civil authorities combat the fire. The 302nd Airlift Wing is based on Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and the 153rd Airlift Wing is part of the Wyoming Air National Guard. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Doscher
Colorado's 'Epic Firestorm' Reveals Danger of Air Force Cuts -- Weekly Standard
Colorado's wildfire has exploded into an "epic firestorm," in the words of Colorado Springs fire chief Richard Brown. Over 30,000 people have evacuated, and already hundreds of homes have been consumed. Ironically, the U.S. Air Force Academy has also been evacuated, at the very time that Colorado desperately needs more Air Force C-130s to fight the massive fire.
A C-130 fitted with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) can drop 3,000 gallons of fire-retardant material in 5 seconds, and reload in just 15 minutes. This tempo is crucial to containing wildfires like the one devastating Colorado Springs. However, of a current fleet of nearly 380 C-130s, only eight can be fitted with the MAFFS—and four of them are already in the skies over Colorado. With another fire looming in the north of the state, there is no excess capacity to help protect civilian areas. That means thousands of exhausted firefighters on the ground are without enough of the crucial support they need to control the fires.
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My Comment: Here is an easy prediction .... we are not going to hear from anyone in the government who will confirm this story.
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