Pilots take off from Colorado Springs to help extinguish wildfires

Five air tankers, both civilian and military, continued to fly in and out of the Colorado Springs Airport Monday, reloading with retardant to help extinguish wildfires across Colorado.

Pilots landed DC-10 air tankers and multiple firefighting C-130s to refuel. The C-130’s are part of the Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) and are operated by the Air Force Reserve.

It takes about 20 minutes to reload the aircraft with 3,000 gallons of retardant and roughly 23 minutes for 9,000 gallons, according to Robbie Cline with the U.S. Forest Service.

Cline said firefighters on the ground make the decision to call for air support and decide what kind of support is necessary. Oftentimes, the famed Supertanker that is housed at Colorado Springs Airport isn’t the first option because of cost.

Weather permitting, the aircraft will drop retardant at fires across the state, and a temporary fuel station was created at Colorado Springs Airport.

“The city of Colorado Springs; the Army, especially Fort Carson; the Air Force, specifically Peterson; and the U.S Forest System work jointly in this product to get this base placed here so that we can better serve the people of Colorado and be more efficient,” Cline said.

The aircraft can operate between six and 13 days before taking a break for scheduled maintenance.