CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing was activated to assist within the Rocky Mountain region to support wildland firefighting efforts, today.
Two Wyoming Air National Guard C-130s and crews equipped with the U.S. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System will arrive at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colo., tomorrow.
The Wyoming Air National Guard is one of four military units nationwide equipped with the MAFFS II, capable of dispersing 3,000 gallons of fire retardant per load. Select aircrews from the 153rd Airlift Wing are certified annually, by the U.S. Forest Service, to fly the aerial firefighting mission.
The Wyoming Air National Guard began aerial firefighting in 1975, with the original Modular Airborne Firefighting System. The unit has fought fires throughout the U.S. and overseas, in Indonesia.