Two Nevada Army Guard helicopters, C-130s to support California firefighting efforts
Submitted by editor on Mon, 07/30/2018 - 2:58pm
CARSON CITY — A total of 16 soldiers aboard two Nevada Army Guard helicopters are set to begin firefighting efforts Monday while based out of Lampson Field Airport in Lakeport, Calif.
One of the helicopters is a CH-47 Chinook equipped with a 2,000-gallon water bucket; the other helicopter is a UH-60 Black Hawk outfitted with a 660-gallon bucket.
The crews departed Reno for Lakeport at 10 a.m. Monday. One fuel truck and one shop truck will also be used to support the fire suppression. It's likely the helicopters will assist at the Mendocino Complex fires.
According to Cal Fire, the combined acreage of several fires in that area is about 56,000 acres.
The Nevada Army Guard recently conducted interstate aerial firefighting training with Cal Fire, the Nevada Division of Forestry and other firefighting agencies in Alpine County, Calif., in late spring.
Meanwhile, The National Interagency Fire Center requested Monday two C-130 aircraft and aircrew from the Nevada Air National Guard's 152nd Airlift Wing, of Reno, to aid firefighting efforts in California.
The two aircraft, operating the USDA Forest Service's Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, or MAFFS, are set to depart Reno on Tuesday for their initial duty location at McClellan Air Force Base in California.
The Reno Airmen could be called to respond to any of the more than a dozen major wildfires raging in the Golden State. The request runs through Aug. 24.
The 152nd Airlift Wing, known as the "High Rollers," is one of four military C-130 units around the nation equipped with MAFFS for large scale wildland firefighting.
MAFFS equipment, loaded into the cargo compartment of a C-130 aircraft, can drop up to 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in six seconds through a nozzle on the rear left side of the plane. The Forest Service owns MAFFS equipment and supplies retardant. The four military units provide C-130 aircraft, maintenance, support personnel and flight crews to fly the missions.
Given the military's non-compete clause with private industry, private air tankers receive first request for largescale, wildland firefighting. Military units have provided the surge capacity with MAFFS since 1974, but are activated only after private contractor assets are exhausted and the
Forest Service deems additional support is necessary. The 152nd Airlift Wing, located at the south end of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, was named the newest MAFFS unit in 2016, replacing the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing. Since 2016, 152nd Airlift Wing Airmen have worked and trained with other MAFFS units to gain certification for wildland firefighting. This summer could mark the first autonomous firefighting missions for the unit without assistance from other units since it entered the MAFFS community two years ago.
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