PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Sept. 14, 2011 – Six Department of Defense C-130 Hercules aircraft under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command continue to aid efforts to control wildfires in Texas, Oregon and Idaho at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, officials reported.

Courtesy photo | A modular airborne firefighting system-equipped C-130 Hercules aircraft prepares for a run over a wildfire in Harrison County, Texas, Sept. 12, 2011. Four C-130 aircraft, assigned to the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group based at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, dropped approximately 12,000 gallons of fire retardant onto two fires in northeast Texas.

The aircraft are equipped with U.S. Forest Service modular airborne firefighting systems.

As of early today, DOD aircraft have completed the following missions in these states:

• Texas: Fifteen drops delivering approximately 44,350 gallons of fire retardant;
• Oregon: Two drops delivering about 2,700 gallons of fire retardant; and
• Idaho: Two drops delivering approximately 2,760 gallons of fire retardant.

Units supporting the Texas operations are the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard. Both units are deployed to Austin/Bergstrom International Airport, Texas.

The support to the northwestern United States is being provided by the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, flying out of Boise International Airport, Idaho.

At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Northcom designated Randolph Air Force Base Auxiliary Field, Seguin, Texas, as a support base to assist in relief efforts.

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U.S. Northern Command