Nevada Air National Guard's High Rollers Head Out to Battle Western Wildfires

With wildfires burning across Nevada and the West, a Nevada Air National Guard C-130 Hercules and its crew received a send-off Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Naval Air Station Fallon this week before joining the aerial firefighting effort.

The Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing, known as the “High Rollers,” activated MAFFS 9 on Aug. 19 to support wildfire response operations across the western United States. The specially equipped C-130 and supporting Airmen deployed from the Nevada Air National Guard Base in Reno to the Klamath Falls Airtanker Base in Oregon.

There, the High Rollers will join personnel from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, bringing together aircrews, maintenance personnel, and support specialists from both states.

MAFFS, short for Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, is a portable fire-retardant delivery system installed aboard military C-130 aircraft. When civilian firefighting aircraft are stretched thin and federal wildland fire agencies request additional help, MAFFS-equipped military aircraft can be called in to add another resource to the fight. Pictured above: Nevada Air National Guard C-130 Hercules during active firefighting mission. 

The activation comes during the heart of the Western wildfire season, as summer heat, dry vegetation, wind, and difficult terrain challenge firefighters across the region.

Closer to home, crews continue battling the Shoshone Fire in the Clan Alpine Mountains northeast of Fallon. Farther west, the Bug Fire burned across portions of Northern California and Nevada north of Reno, while other large fires have kept crews busy in Northern California and Oregon.

With several large fires burning at the same time, aircraft, crews, and equipment can be called from one state to another as agencies work to put resources where they are most needed.

MAFFS 9's deployment to Klamath Falls does not mean the aircraft has been assigned to a particular Oregon fire. Klamath Falls serves as an airtanker base, and where the Nevada crew ultimately flies will depend on wildfire activity and requests from agencies directing the federal response.

MAFFS missions are conducted through a partnership between the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Military aircraft work alongside civilian firefighting aircraft and federal, state, and local agencies responding to wildfires.

he High Rollers are one of only four military C-130 units in the country that maintain the capability to conduct MAFFS operations. Nevada Air National Guard crews train regularly for the specialized mission, so the aircraft and personnel are ready when additional firefighting resources are needed.

How long MAFFS 9 and the Nevada Airmen remain deployed will depend on wildfire activity and the needs of agencies coordinating the federal response.

Pictured below: Nevada Air National Guard soldiers load C-130 for transport.