The air tanker base at the California Air National Guard Channel Island Station has received a major upgrade. The old tanks used for mixing and storing retardant that had a total capacity of 10,000 gallons have been replaced with permanent tanks that can hold 50,000 gallons. In addition, the reloading pits have been reconfigured to allow the reloading of very large air tankers (VLAT). This is the fifth air tanker base in California that can accommodate VLATs. The others are Castle, McClellan, San Bernardino, and Santa Maria.
The earlier 10,000-gallon system would only have enough to reload 3 or 4 large air tankers. With 50,000 gallons there is enough for 16 to 20 reloads of large air tankers, or 5 DC-10 VLATs. The new system is online now.
The National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing based at Channel Islands can activate two C-130 aircraft equipped with 3,000-gallon Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) to provide surge capacity when large air tankers are stretched thin across the country. Either the Governor or the Multi-Agency Coordinating Group in Boise can activate the eight MAFFS units stationed at four bases in the United States. The other three bases are in Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada.
Kim Christensen, the Deputy Assistant Director for Fire and Aviation for the U.S. Forest Service said the newly constructed MAFFS pits could ease logistic hurdles and improve the efficiency during a home station activation.
“We recognize the commitment the 146th Airlift Wing has made to the MAFFS program by making permanent modifications to their C-130 fleet to provide more efficient retardant deliveries when we need them the most. In the past several years, we have become increasingly reliant on the surge capability of the MAFFS program, and these modifications will help us more efficiently support suppression efforts on the ground,” said Christensen.
“If the decision is made to activate the 146 Airlift Wing’s MAFFS, the Forest Service may request them to activate and support incidents from their home station. The agency can often reduce logistics and recognize efficiencies with a home station activation, and the permanent retardant pits at Channel Islands allow us to better support this,” said Christensen.
This week all eight MAFFS units are in Boise for their annual training.
