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norcal burning up

hey foo?...have you been able to get over to MCC as yet to get some pics?..i saw on flightradar24 this morning that T02 was enroute to MCC.
 
Hey Dave,

I drove by there yesterday but didn't take any pics. There was the usual conga line of 747, Coulson C-130 and Neptune's BA-146. The C-130's were flying over my house non-stop all day Sunday fighting the Yuba fire.

There were no ANG C-130's at McClellan but the UH-60's at the Mather ANG base were all painted with the red fire fighting markings. They have mostly been that way all season. VP Pence's Air Force Two and support C-17 from McChord AFB were at Mather and parked at the Western end of the tarmac as well. It was too dark to take any pics.
 
Went by McClellan yesterday and it remains a hub of fire fighting activity. Two ANG C-130s from the Channel Islands were there along with the usual aircraft. Channel 3's Longranger stopped by to refuel. The air yesterday was really 'soupy', made for bad pictures even at close range.



Grrr, having probs importing images from Imgur.
 
Went by McClellan (KMCC) today and found no less than ten AF C-130's!
From four states: California ANG, Nevada ANG, Wyoming ANG and Colorado Reserve. All painted with fire fighting markings. There are no wildfires near here at the moment, so I assume they are here for training.
Also two USFS Beechcraft in the mix. There were about 8-10 USFS admin aircraft on the transient ramp all in a row but wasn't able to get a pic. Looks like they are gearing up for another bad wildfire season, hope they aren't needed (fingers crossed).
Very impressive sight!



 
The wildfires in the west have started and we're not even into the month of May. It's going to be another bad year. Puerto Rico hasn't recovered yet and it's not too far in the future when hurricane season will be starting again.
And the idiots in congress refuse to even talk about Climate Change.
 
[h=1]MAFFS training begins at McClellan[/h]
MAFFS9.jpg

Above: C-130’s line up at Sacramento McClellan Airport April 23, 2018 as MAFFS training begins. Photo by 2nd Lt. Emerson Marcus, 152 Airlift Wing/Public Affairs.
The annual training and recertification has started at Sacramento McClellan Airport for the military C-130 crews who will fly and maintain the MAFFS aircraft this year.
All four of the airlift wings that operate the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System are participating: three Air National Guard units from California, Nevada and Wyoming, and one U.S. Air Force Reserve unit from Colorado. Following the crash of MAFFS 7 in 2012 near Edgemont, South Dakota, the U.S. Forest Service and the military units have made an effort to have all four units in one place at the same time each year for the training.
“Training with all four MAFFS wings alongside the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE and other wildland firefighting agencies here in Sacramento provides a significant opportunity as we prepare for wildland fire season,” said Col. James DeVere, commander of the MAFFS Air Expeditionary Group and 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve. “Training collectively ensures overall standardization of operations while continuing to build working relationships with the key players in the wildland firefighting community. It is rewarding as guardsmen and reservists to stand alongside our agency partners, knowing that we help make a difference protecting our citizens and their property.”

The U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s MAFFS equipment — rolled into the back of a C-130 aircraft — can drop up to 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in six seconds through a nozzle on the rear left side of the plane.
The certification training includes classroom sessions and flight operations for military flight crews, lead plane pilots and other support personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and other wildland firefighting agencies.
Training water drops will be executed on lands within the Tahoe and Shasta-Trinity national forests. California residents in these areas may see low-flying U.S. Forest Service lead planes and C-130s dropping water Tuesday through Friday.
MAFFS aircraft are activated to supplement commercial air tankers contracted by the USDA Forest Service when high wildfire activity requires additional aircraft. They can also be activated by governors to assist with wildfire suppression in states where the Air National Guard units that provide the C-130s are located — California, Wyoming, and Nevada.
 
Aah, well then, there you go. My brother went by there today and said there was now fourteen of 'em. I don't think there have been that many military aircraft at McClellan since it ceased to be an AFB.

Glad to see that they are getting a jump on things.
 
Just got my May issue of "AirForces Monthly", great cockpit shot from last year of a CA ANG C-130J-30 about to drop, view of nothing but smoke/fire!
 
Glad to see that they are getting a jump on things.
Click to expand...
Especially the Smoke Jumpers! :biggrin-new:

I'm sorry, I know this is a serious business, but I just couldn't resist.

Here's hoping NorCal, and Southern Oregon (ME!), have very small, controllable burns this year. If they didn't work so hard at preventing forest fires, the ones that do finally break out wouldn't be so bad. The longer there aren't any fires, the more fuel builds up.

Mother Nature had a great system, before humans showed up. Recycle the nutrients back into the soil, clears out excess undergrowth, some trees even need fire to reproduce.

By the same token, I still prefer the prevention idea to the slash-n-burn total deforestation system used in South America. That's a lot worse...

Have fun all!
Pat☺
 
PhantomTweak said:
Especially the Smoke Jumpers! :biggrin-new:

I'm sorry, I know this is a serious business, but I just couldn't resist.

Here's hoping NorCal, and Southern Oregon (ME!), have very small, controllable burns this year. If they didn't work so hard at preventing forest fires, the ones that do finally break out wouldn't be so bad. The longer there aren't any fires, the more fuel builds up.

Mother Nature had a great system, before humans showed up. Recycle the nutrients back into the soil, clears out excess undergrowth, some trees even need fire to reproduce.

By the same token, I still prefer the prevention idea to the slash-n-burn total deforestation system used in South America. That's a lot worse...

Have fun all!
Pat☺
Click to expand...
Where are you in Southern Oregon? I'm in Medford. Because Medford is in a valley, it gets filled with smoke from just about any fire within a couple hundred miles of here if the wind is blowing toward Medford.
 
The lovely town of Chiloquin, 1/2 way between Klamath Falls and Crater Lake. About 30 miles either way.

I'm on the crown of a hill overlooking Agency Lake, less than a 1/4 mile away. Fantastic view.
We have the same problem, smoke fills up the lake's valley. Real pain, literally. Gives my bad eye fits. Not to mention, having smoked for nearly 50 years, well, you get the idea.

Good luck!
Pat☺
 
Saw three of the C-130s over auburn today,pretty sure they werent the same plane because of the closeness of each of them.:very_drunk:
 
They've been going hot n heavy today and yesterday in a race track pattern. You go outside at any time and see one coming and one going to the practice area.
 
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