Reservists helping forest service fight fires

  • Published
  • By Jennifer-Lyn Harter
  • 419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) --  As the sun sets, a C-130 Hercules rolls in, covered in a thin misty layer of reddish orange liquid fire retardant. The retardant coats everything it has touched, serving as a reminder to the Airmen from the 302nd Airlift Wing of the heroic adventure they have just completed.

As of Aug. 5, the unit has conducted 272 drops using 721,455 gallons of retardant since the summer fire season began May 24.

Fighting forest fires has historically been a responsibility of the U.S. Forest Service; however, numerous catastrophic forest fires over the years have severely overloaded the agency’s ability to cope with them all. As a result, the U.S. Air Force modified military aircraft to serve as a back up measure.

"We appreciate having the opportunity to work with the Air Force Reserve and National Guard to protect communities and forests from fire," said Jean Withnell from the U.S. Forest Service.

Lack of fire resources triggers the forest service to use military people and equipment after all civilian tankers are activated and further assistance is still necessary. With drought conditions continuing this year in Utah, forest service officials have called reservists from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., to help out.

Military firefighters arrived here in July to begin augmenting the forest service in the fight against wildfires.

Officials are anticipating a busy fire season in light of a recent decision to ground some civilian air tankers so the aircraft can undergo testing before returning to the fleet.

"After two accidents in 2002, the airworthiness of the aging fire air tanker fleet could not be assured,” said Ms. Withnell. “Since the use of these older planes has been discontinued, reliance on the (military firefighting assets) has increased."

Two C-130 s, equipped with “Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems,” and 60 Airmen have deployed throughout the fire season for an average of 14 days. A MAFFS unit is a pressurized 3,000 gallon tank installed on C-130 cargo aircraft. Retardant or water is dropped out of the tank through two oversized tubes which can establish a fire line in a matter of seconds.

Wing Airmen receive extensive training and practice annually so they can help with the special missions.

Although deployed firefighters spend a lot of time waiting for taskings from forest service officials, Master Sgt. Bill Debusk said not working is better than the alternative.

“If I am working, it means someone’s home or property is burning,“ said the sergeant who is a flight chief in the wing’s aircraft maintenance section. He has been reservist since 1987 and has volunteered for the firefighting missions for the past 12 years.

Other members of the unit echo Sergeant Debusk’s sentiments yet are quick to point out the tremendous sense of satisfaction each mission brings.

“It’s the most rewarding work we do,” said Senior Master Sgt. Peter LaBarre, who is a loadmaster for the 302nd AW.

Loadmasters are responsible for numerous aircraft activities including dispensing retardant in sometimes perilous conditions.

“We are experienced, well trained, and motivated to help anywhere we are needed,” Sergeant LaBarre said.

A typical mission profile for the group has their MAFFS-eqipped aircraft following a forest service lead plane. The group of aircraft makes two sweeps over the fire, once to view the location and a second to drop the retardant in a line around the fire to keep it from moving forward.

“The aircraft fly approximately 150 feet above the ground,” said Sergeant LaBarre. “You get a lot of smoke and low visibility when flying that low over a fire.”

According to the sergeant, the Air Force Reserve and National Guard C-130 MAFFS-equipped aircraft have a stellar safety record even while flying missions at such low altitudes.

“It’s a thrill,” Sergeant LaBarre said. “But it’s not the only reason we do it. The community knows us, and they appreciate what we do and we appreciate the opportunity to serve communities in need.”