MAFFS Archives - Page 9 of 13

President Obama visits the Waldo Canyon fire

Bill GabbertJune 29, 2012January 23, 2013UncategorizedColorado, MAFFS, Waldo Canyon Fire6 Comments

President's Arrival at Colorado Springs — President’s Arrival at Colorado Springs, 12:13 MT, June 29, 2012

President Obama arrived at Colorado Springs at 12:13 p.m. MT Friday, 3 hours and 20 minutes later than the White House’s schedule, then he toured the Waldo Canyon fire area and received a briefing from incident personnel. The schedule called for him to be in Colorado Springs for 2 hours and 50 minutes.

The original plans were for Air Force One to park at Peterson Air Force base on the northeast side of the Colorado Springs Airport, but instead it went to the opposite side, perhaps to avoid interfering with operations of the four military MAFFS air tankers at Peterson. The President, accompanied by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and several other politicians departed the airport in an SUV, rather than a helicopter.

President's statement at Waldo Canyon fire — President’s statement at Waldo Canyon fire, 1:38 p.m. MT, June 29, 2012. CNN

After he looked at some of the burned areas he received a briefing about the status of the fire. Then he made a short statement, speaking contemporaneously, without notes or a teleprompter. Here are some excerpts that I transcribed from the television coverage on CNN:

…Some lessons are being learned about how we can mitigate some of these fires in the future and I know that the Mayor and the Governor and other local officials are already in those conversations. It means that hopefully out of this tragedy some long-term planning occurs and it may be that we can curb some of the damage that happens the next time even though it is obvious that we can’t fully control fires that are starting up in these mountains.

[…]

The last point I want to make, is that we can provide all the resources. We can make sure they are well coordinated. But as I just told these firefighters what we can’t do is to provide them with the courage and the determination and the professionalism, the heart that they show when they are out there battling these fires.

When we had a chance on site to see some guys who had just saved three homes in a community that had been devastated, for those families, the work and the sacrifices of those firefighters means the world to them and they are genuine heroes. So we just want to say thank you to all the folks that have been involved in this, we’re proud of you, we appreciate what you do each and every day, and for folks all around the country I hope you are reminded how important our fire departments are, our Forest Service is. Sometimes they don’t get the credit that they deserve until your house is burning down or your community is being threatened. You have to understand that they are putting their lives at risk to save us and to help us. We’ve got to make sure we remember that 365 days a year, not just when tragedies like this strike.

Below is a video clip from Friday morning’s Today Show. It provides an update on the fire including a few seconds from the cockpit of a MAFFS C-130 air tanker..

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Four additional military MAFFS air tankers activated

Bill GabbertJune 29, 2012September 12, 2012Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS2 Comments

MAFFS air tanker dropping on Waldo Canyon Fire June 28, 2012. Photo by Staff Sgt Stephany Richards USAF

The U.S. Forest Service has activated an additional four Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) air tankers. These military C-130s should be operational by 6 p.m. Saturday and are from the North Carolina Air National Guard and the California Air National Guard. They will be working out of Peterson Air Force base in Colorado Springs, Colorado along with the other four MAFFS air tankers that were activated June 24.

This brings the number of large air tankers on active duty right now to 22, plus one very large air tanker:

Airtankers

9 on Exclusive Use contracts (8 P2Vs and 1 BAe-146)
5 CV-580s borrowed temporarily through agreements with the State of Alaska and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
8 MAFFS

Very Large Airtankers

1 DC 10 on a call when needed contract

Since June 25 the four MAFFS aircraft operating out of Colorado Springs have conducted 62 sorties, made 53 air drops, and dropped 138,400 gallons of retardant on fires in the area, most of them on the Waldo Canyon fire which has burned 348 homes and killed at least one person.

Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the USFS, said today that there are still an additional three CV-580 air tankers available that they could borrow from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

One fatality in Colorado Springs Waldo Canyon fire

Bill GabbertJune 29, 2012August 25, 2019UncategorizedColorado, Colorado Springs, fatality, MAFFS, Waldo Canyon Fire1 Comment

(The map above is an example of how the the Waldo Canyon fire spread into the Flying W Ranch area of Colorado Springs on Tuesday, June 26. HERE is a link to a map that can zoom in to see more details. MODIS/Google)

Authorities searching through the rubble of the 348 homes that burned in the Waldo Canyon fire at Colorado Springs, Colorado found the remains of one person. A second person at that home and another nine are still unaccounted for that live in the areas that burned in the fire.

Firefighters wanted to do some burning out Thursday night to remove some of the fuels adjacent to the firelines but the humidity was too high. That same humidity also prohibited any additional spread of the fire, which has burned 16,750 acres and officially is 15 percent contained at a cost to date of $5.2 million.

President Obama will tour the fire area on Friday to inspect the destruction. Officials said this would not interfere with fire operations and the number of closed roads will be less than you would typically encounter during a Presidential visit. He will most likely fly in to Peterson Air Force Base at Colorado Springs and we are thinking that he may have a photo op with the military MAFFS C-130 air tankers working out of the base.

If the president makes any public comments during his visit it will be interesting to see if he mentions wildland fire preparedness, such as the reductions over the last few years in funding, and the reduced number of firefighters, equipment, and air tankers.

The City of Colorado Springs announced that they will release a list of the damaged homes by mid-morning on Friday. It will be posted on the city’s web site at http://springsgov.com/

A slide show with aerial photos of the destruction in the urban area is jaw-dropping.

How to install a MAFFS II in a C-130J

Bill GabbertJune 25, 2012September 12, 2012Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS6 Comments

OK, it’s not exactly a training film, but this 5-minute raw video can give you an idea of what it takes to install a Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) in a military C-130J. The military air tankers can help provide additional air tanker support for wildfires if all of the contracted large air tankers are committed.

The video was shot Sunday June 23, 2012 at the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, in Cheyenne, Wyoming as crews prepared two C-130 aircraft for missions in the Rocky Mountain Geographic Area.

Four of the aircraft became operational at Pueblo air tanker base on Monday and performed three drops on the Waldo Canyon fire since the first midday launch. As of 5:20 p.m. MT they were on hold due to poor visibility at the fire.

Thanks go out to Dick

Four military MAFFS C-130 air tankers activated

Bill GabbertJune 24, 2012September 12, 2012Uncategorizedair tanker, MAFFS8 Comments

MAFFS WY ANG 6-24-2012 — Members of the 153rd Airlift Wing, Cheyenne, Wyo., load a U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne FireFighting System II onto a Wyoming Air National Guard C-130, June 24, 2012. Photo by Staff Sgt Natalie Stanley

UPDATED at 1:30 p.m. MT, June 23, 2012 to increase the number of MAFFS being activated from two to four.

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Four Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130 air tankers have been activated to assist in suppressing the numerous wildfires burning in the western United States. This is the first time the MAFFS air tankers have been used this year.

Two MAFFS will be provided by the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard at Cheyenne and another two will be from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. They will be based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado and are expected to be available to fly wildfire suppression missions by no later than Tuesday, June 26th.

MAFFS WY ANG nozzle 6-24-2012 — Senior Master Sgt. Jack Goeken, loadmaster, 187th Airlift Squadron, Cheyenne, Wyo., prepares to load a U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Firefighting System II nozzle onto a Wyoming Air National Guard C-130, June 24, 2012. Photo by Staff Sgt Natalie Stanley

The interagency agreement between the USFS and the Department of Defense requires that MAFFS be operational within 48 hours. However they usually have responded within 36 hours of the initial request.

More information about the MAFFS II system.

Waldo Canyon Fire, Colorado Springs

Bill GabbertJune 24, 2012March 23, 2019UncategorizedColorado, Colorado Springs, MAFFS, Waldo Canyon Fire12 Comments

The map of the Waldo Canyon fire above shows heat detected by a satellite at 3:35 a.m. June 24.

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UPDATE at 2:35 p.m. MT, June 24:

The map below shows information about the fire’s location from two sources. The red line is the product of an infrared mapping flight by an aircraft at 11:07 p.m. June 23. The squares with the dots represent heat detected by a satellite about four hours later at 3:35 a.m. June 24.

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UPDATE at 12:52 p.m. MT, June 24

The Denver Post reported at 12:16 p.m. today that:

…Air resources consist of a helicopter with four helicopters on order. Two heavy air tankers and additional resources are on the way.

Surely this can’t be correct, that there is only one helicopter and no air tankers working on the fire.

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UPDATE at 10:32 a.m. June 24:

We have confirmed that two Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130 air tankers have been activated. Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, told us that the agency requested that the aircraft be in place between noon and 6 p.m. MT on Monday. This is the first time the MAFFS air tankers have been used this year.

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9:16 a.m. MT, June 24, 2012

The Waldo Canyon fire west of Colorado Springs has burned approximately 2,500 acres, according to the City of Colorado Springs in a 6:12 a.m. MT update. That site and InciWeb will provide detailed information about the fire, including evacuation notices. However, the InciWeb web site has been having problems, probably due to a large number of people trying to find information about the fire.

There are no reports of any structures being lost.

The map of the fire we have here shows heat detected by satellites at 3:35 a.m. MT, June 24. It shows the fire being less than two miles from the Kissing Camels golf course and very close to Manitou Springs.

Approximately 1,050 homes have been evacuated. Garden of the Gods Park and Garden of the Gods Visitor Center are closed.

A Type 1 Incident Management Team was ordered within a few hours of the first report of the fire. A Type 1 IMTeam is the largest and most qualified team that manages wildfires and other all-hazard incidents.

We are checking on an unconfirmed report that at least one military Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130 aircraft has been activated. Two are based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs 11 miles from the Waldo Canyon fire. Through yesterday, none of the eight MAFFS around the country had been used on fires this year.

We will post more information about the Waldo Canyon fire later. Check back with us for more details.

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