JOHN CARR
Firehouse.Com Contributing Writer/Photographer
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Photo By John Carr
A C-130H equipped with a MAFFS unit More Photos
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Many of the airplanes seeing action today in the war on wildfires were built for other wars. They were designed as bombers and transports for World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Known as workhorses in bygone days they are still performing above and beyond expectations.
Owners of these vintage planes modify them to meet the new challenges of delivering fire retardant on wildfires. Tanks are installed that permit the airplane to carrying as much as 3,000 gallons of retardant slurry. The sight of "slurry bombers" dropping their red cargo on a fire is common.
Photo By John Carr
Single Engine Airtanker - S.E.A.T. (Type III) More Photos
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Private firms and individual owners of 41 fire retardant tankers have contracted with the federal government for the 2002 fire season. The United State Air Force has also adapted a number of C-130H transport planes. These planes are stationed at airbases around the country Five C-130H MAFFS are currently stationed at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado They saw service at the Hayman Fire, Colorado's largest wildfire ever.
To insure that there are adequate tankers to fight expected fires during the fire season the government agrees to pay owners "availability". Availability is a standby fee. It varies according to the size of the air tanker. While a slurry bomber may not be used everyday they must be able to fly at a moment's notice. An availability fee of approximately $2,000 a day is common. Again depending on the size of their tanker, owners are paid $3,000.00 or more for every hour that they fly. The U. S. Forest Service provides the fire retardant while airplane owners provide their own fuel and maintenance.
Contractors must provide an air worthy FAA certified airplane. They also must provide a mechanic for each of their planes. Mechanics accompany the planes to every airport they fly from. Each plane is generally loaded with all the spare parts and tools that might be needed during the season. It is not unusual for a mechanic to rebuild many of the working parts of an airplane, including an engine. Because of their age finding parts for a 40 year old plane is not easy. Owners and mechanics need to arrange for common parts to be on hand at all times.
The U. S. Forest Service oversees and coordinates the placement and operations of fixed wing slurry bombers. The Forest Service operates airbases strategically located around the country. They also use airports on an "as needed" basis. Like giant chess pieces on an even larger nationwide chessboard, airplanes are moved constantly. Planes may start the fire season on the East Coast or in the South. As the fires move across the country so do the planes. Many planes will see action in every region of the country by the end of each year.
Fire retardant is a mixture of water, fertilizer and chemicals. Dropped from airplanes and helicopters the retardant slows the advance of the fire. Working with crews on the ground a well placed retardant drop can effectively be used to construct firelines. With homes being constructed in the forest, slurry is also finding increased use protecting threatened houses.
Similar to helitankers, airtankers are rated by their carrying capacity. The greater the carrying capacity of the plane the higher it's rating.
- Type I Airtankers must carry at least 2000 gallons of retardant
- Type II Airtankers must carry at least 1000 gallons of retardant
- Type III Airtankers must carry at least 800 gallons of retardant
- Type IV Airtankers must carry at least 100 gallons of retardant
Recent use of technology has led to the development of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System. MAFFS permits C-130 transport planes to be fitted with a 3000 gallon tank and a computer controlled distribution system. Designed to be used by military C-130s, MAFFS allows operators to control the width and length of a retardant drop. It is possible for a MAFFS equipped plane to drop retardant in a controlled pattern over a mile.
Bases
The U. S. Forest Service operates a number of airtanker bases around the country. The Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center runs its Jeffco Airtanker Base at the Jefferson County Airport, near Denver. Personnel stationed at the base are responsible for coordinating airtanker operations within the region. They act as dispatch and air traffic control for the Forest Service. Employees also refill all of the airtankers working fires in the area. The Jeffco Airtanker Base can fill up to two airtankers at any given time. Above ground tanks contain 36,000 gallons of retardant concentrate. As the concentrate is loaded onto a plane it is mixed with water at a rate of five parts water to one part of concentrate. It takes approximately 6 minutes to load 2,000 gallons of slurry on to a plane. The slurry is loaded thru hard fire hose, under pressure. As the slurry passes thru a pump it is metered similar to a gas service station. This enables each plane to be filled to capacity without being under or overloaded.
During the height of operations on the Hayman Fire there were 13 airtankers flying out of the Jefferson County Airport. At night there wasn't enough space to park all of the planes so they were flown to other airports hundreds of miles away. Normally fire season begins in mid June. This fire season was in full force months ahead of schedule. During average years the Jeffco Airtanker Base pumps 200,000 gallons of fire retardant. By July 15th the base has already loaded more than 950,000 gallons, with no end in sight.
While many of the fires burning in the west are attributed to an ongoing drought there are more than one million people living in homes located in Colorado's Urban Interface. There are many more in other states as well. The threat of wildfire may lessen as the weather improves but the likelihood that more fires will burn homes points to the guarantee that firefighters will continue seeing war planes filling the sky with red slurry.
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