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The 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo., uses a modular air fire fighting system equipped C-130 Hercules aircraft in support of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 27. Four MAFFS-equipped aircraft from the 302nd and 153rd Airlift Wings flew in support of the U.S. Forest Service as they fought fires. MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Air Force Staff Sgt. Stepheny Richards, 2nd CTCS

Airman Raymond DeSoto, 302nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, marshals a MAFFS-equipped C-130 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., June 29. MAFFS aircraft from the 302nd and 153rd Airlift Wings have been supporting wildland fire fighting efforts since June 25. Tech. Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher, Air Force

WASHINGTON - As of Friday, Department of Defense C-130s, equipped with the U.S. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, have discharged more than 332,400 gallons of retardant in 140 airdrop missions since they were called into action to battle fires in the Rocky Mountain region and other western locales, according to U.S. Northern Command officials.

Six Department of Defense C-130 aircraft, under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command, assisted in firefighting efforts at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, officials said.

The aircrafts efforts July 5 centered on the Squirrel Creek fire, officials said. This wildfire location is approximately three miles west of Woods Landing, Wyo., where aircraft discharged about 8,500 gallons of retardant.