COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Four military firefighting planes are being moved to Arizona from Colorado.

The National Interagency Fire Center says all four C-130s will be stationed at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport by Wednesday and ready to drop slurry on fires.

The planes were mobilized last month to fight fires in southern Colorado, including one that destroyed over 500 homes and killed two people, because all the U.S. Forest Service's tankers were in use.

There are a total of eight C-130s equipped with a large device called the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, or MAFFS, that can deploy up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant or water at a time.

The other planes are operated by Air National Guard units in North Carolina and Wyoming. Fire managers say they can be called on if needed.

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