CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. -- Pilots flying eight Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo airplanes have dropped 129,600 gallons of retardant on the Simi Fire in Southern California during 48 sorties and 32 flying hours as of Oct. 29.
The aircraft are equipped with the modular airborne firefighting system. The system is a self-contained, 3,000-gallon aerial fluid dispersal system that fits in the back of a C-130.
The airmen are from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing here; the Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; the Wyoming ANG’s 153rd AW at Cheyenne; and the North Carolina ANG’s 145th AW at Charlotte.
The missions are managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the California ANG.
The wildfires have been blamed for 20 deaths in California. President George W. Bush declared the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura federal disaster areas Oct. 27. The fires have burned more than 2,600 homes and threaten more than 70,000 other structures. More than 750,000 acres have been burned.