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“MAAFS” training for fire season at Peterson Air Force Base

Posted at 7:47 PM, May 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-08 21:47:04-04

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE – They’re called MAFFS, or Modular-Airborne -Firefighting-Systems, and they’re in southern Colorado training for another fire season.

The modified C-130’s are a joint effort between the Forest Service and the DoD.

The retardant the planes drop can and does save lives and property.

“We’re taking a military aircraft, which is normally a tactical airlifter on a military mission, and in the back we roll in the modular firefighting system into the back of the airplane,” said Commander James Devere.

The Forest Service is predicting a late wildfire season through most of the southwest region thanks to the good winter moisture southern Colorado saw this year.