Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System crews eager to fight fire another day

This picture shows one of the C-130's from yesterday dropping the fire retardant on the Waldo Canyon fire. Four C-130's belong to Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs that were participating in the joint effort with the National Forest Service.  The four C-130's from Peterson crews and support personnel were on duty even when they knew their homes or homes of people they know could be in danger as they continued to do what they do best -- fight the fire from the air to save more homes.  This shows what two agencies, Air Force and National Forest Service, can do when they work together to fight a disaster.

Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System crews eager to fight fire another day

Posted 6/27/2012

by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Butterfield
153rd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

6/27/2012 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- Members of the 731st Expeditionary Air Squadron arrived during the early morning hours of June 27 to prepare the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130 Hercules for another day of aerial fire-fighting.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

The day before saw significant MAFFS activity as the four C-130s, two from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing and two from the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing dropped 65,000 gallons of Phos-Chek fire retardant in the Rocky Mountain region.

Despite such an active day with so many gallons dropped, the mood was heavy as many of those involved in the operation were local Airmen who have friends and family members who were evacuated the day before. But even with their thoughts on those going through incredible hardships, the members of the 731 EAS were eager to get back into the fight.

"It's a little stressful," said Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, 302nd Airlift Wing Chief of Aerial Firefighting. "Some (MAFFS crew members) have evacuees in their home. Some are worried how far the fire is going to go, if it's going to get close to their home, but they are dealing with it."

"We feel almost helpless," said Staff Sgt. Raymond Durban, an avionics technician from the 302nd Maintenance Group, who is assisting with the refilling of the MAFFS units and has co-workers who evacuated. "But we are bearing down and ready to go this morning. We are just waiting for the go-ahead from the (U.S.) Forest Service."

The Waldo Canyon fire grew in size by thousands of acres yesterday due to shifting and increased winds, despite the best efforts of the C-130 aircrews and the entire unified command team.

"We've dropped on a lot of really big fires, but (we've seen nothing) like this as far as close proximity to major cities so you have a little more sense of urgency that we've got to get these drops and get them right the first time," said Maj. Neil Harlow, a pilot with the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing. "The smoke, especially down at the Waldo Canyon fire, has made it difficult to see the targets."

The first MAFFS-equipped C-130 left Peterson AFB, Colo., June 27 at 9:30 a.m. to again work on the Waldo Canyon fire. They are expected to make drops throughout the day.

In addition to the 153rd and 302nd Airlift Wings, the 146th AW in Channel Islands, Calif., and the 145th AW, in Charlotte, N.C., possess the ability to assist federal, state and local wildland fire-fighting agencies and organizations with MAFFS.

The MAFFS program is a joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense.


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Wildfire stops moves to Air Force Academy

All permanent change of station orders into and out of the AF Academy have been put on hold by the Military Personnel Center at Randolph as a result of the Waldo Canyon fire.  Would bet some of the people headed to the AF Academy have already had their household goods picked up if they had orders for 1 July to report to the Academy.  Now they are in limbo until further notice.

Air Force officials have temporarily halted permanent change of station moves and most temporary duty assignments to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., as Air Force members join the fight to extinguish the 29-square mile Waldo Canyon wildfire burning northwest of the installation, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.

Civilian personnel moves have also been halted until further notice.

Colorado Springs Waldo Canyon Fire Out of Control Threatens Air Force Academy

UPDATE:  Latest News from the Denver Post 06/28:

COLORADO SPRINGS — Mayor Steve Bach told a morning news conference, "we know hundreds of homes have been destroyed" by the Waldo Canyon Fire. 

He said the city is in the process of assessing the areas where homes burned and plans to notify owners on an individual basis starting at noon Thursday. He said officials would be "methodical and careful" in notification. 

Some 32,000 people remain out of their homes in and around Colorado Springs. An aerial photograph of the Mountain Shadows neighborhood taken Wednesday shows approximately 300 homes, all of them inside the Colorado Springs city limits, reduced to charred rubble.

The fire started June 23 and has grown to 18,500 acres. The blaze's cause is not known, and the FBI has joined the investigation. 

Read more: Colorado wildfire: Waldo Canyon Fire officials confirm "hundreds" of homes destroyed - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/wildfires/ci_20962119/colorado-wildfire-waldo-canyon-fire-officials-confirm-hundreds#ixzz1z7XJrG4j  

Some before and after photos of a Mountain Shadows neighborhood from the Denver Post:

There are more before and after pictures at the Denver Post which shows how devastating this Waldo Canyon Fire has been to the residents of Colorado Springs and surrounding areas.  Latest estimate of the number of homes destroyed is 300 according to news reports out of Colorado.  Today's winds are not as heavy and the temps have dropped about five degrees from yesterday but the latest report still has only 5% containment.  Over 30,000 evacuees and the fire is still burning out of control.  He came to the edge of the AF Academy burning about 10 acres but did not destroy any structures as of this afternoon.  The cadet area at the Academy is not near the fire although there have been evacuations from some of the Academy housing areas.

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The Waldo Canyon Fire is threatening not only Colorado Springs and surrounding towns but residences of the Air Force Academy.  This video shows how damaging this out of control fire has become:

COLORADO SPRINGS — Tens of thousands of people fled the neighborhoods north and west of Colorado Springs after the Waldo Canyon fire unleashed waves of flames late Tuesday afternoon. 

Showers of ash fell as traffic gridlocked on Interstate 25 and all major eastbound roadways, clogged full of evacuees and fire equipment. Witnesses flooded the Internet on Twitter, describing the scene as "an apocalypse" and "terrifying" and posting photos of the city wrapped in a sinister orange and black cloud. 

The evacuations covered the entire area north of Garden of the Gods and west of I-25, including Pinon Valley, Rockrimmon and Woodmen valley, home to thousands of residents. The Pine Valley housing area south of the Air Force Academy was evacuated and, about 7:30 p.m., more of the academy itself was ordered evacuated.

Read more: Colorado wildfire: 32,000 people evacuated in Waldo Canyon fire - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20940351/colorado-wildfire-waldo-canyon-fire-near-colorado-springs#ixzz1z0u9qclV 

Without the foresight of the Colorado Springs community as well as communities surrounding them this would be even worse as they had a plan in place in case something like this happened.  I realized how bad it was last night when on Twitter there was a picture of the AF Academy football stadium and on the ridge above the Academy you could see the flames and then the smoke shooting sky high.  

After visiting family in Denver right after Christmas, we traveled to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, AZ, driving I-25 through Colorado Springs and by the AF Academy.  What we noticed was a lack of snow in the Pike's Peak area and the lower mountains.  There wasn't even any along I-25 which seemed odd compared to past years.  We didn't see a lot of snow on the side of the road until we got closer to NM which means that area of Colorado missed the blizzard that had gone across New Mexico.  
The latest class of cadets are reporting to the AF Academy this week who are going through in-processing and orientation.  If this gets much closer, you have to wonder if the new cadets are also going to be evacuated.  The AF Academy older cadets in the summer get leave and then go to camps on Air Force bases around the Country to get a close up view of the active duty Air Force.  Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, for years has hosted cadets from the Academy in the summer.
This area needs rain desperately to get this fire under control as last night you could see houses going up in flames on the ridge in a report from a reporter on a bluff overlooking the city.  It is scary to realize that you need to decide what you will take with you as you evacuate.  Living in an area where fires could break out, you need a plan on what to take.  
When we lived in the foothills in San Bernardino County off I-10, we had a plan -- first was the family and pets, second was family pictures, third was one box for each of our three children of their most precious items, then the paintings and other wall hangings, etc.  We had a truck and a station wagon all set with what to pack if we needed to evacuate.  When fire season would start, the downstairs closet under the stairs was filled with items that meant so much to our family that could be loaded up in minutes.  We never had to evacuate but we had ash all over our sidewalks and back patio the day the moving truck was loaded due to a transfer.  As the movers unloaded the boxes in MA, there was still ash on some of them.  Several years ago a fire came within two streets of where we used to live.  
Our first responders are so important in fighting these wildfires burning across the west.  Those fireman on the fire lines risk their lives fighting these giant forest fires because they never know when the wind is going to shift.  The police are the first ones in to evacuate people from their homes going door to door to make sure everyone gets out and then man the checkpoints which could easily put them in harm's way.  This Country owes so much to the men and women who are involved as fire and police who protect the rest of us.  We need more firefighters and police not less.  The Federal Government at all levels should be taking an active role in ensuring that the National Forest Service has the firefighters and the equipment necessary to fight these fires and have it available immediately.  
The Indian tribes here in Oklahoma and other states have firefighters who have been through the training in addition to having many hours of actual experience fighting forest fires as every summer they are called upon to help fight these fires.  Our military has specially designed planes to be used to fight these fires along with the helicopters  It is a joint operation of some of the bravest people in our Country to fight these fires to save lives and property.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the western states that are on fire right now and sincerely hope the prayers for rain and calming winds come are answered quickly.