(PHOTOS) Wyoming National Guard sending military planes to fight Los Angeles fires

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — In the wake of multiple wildfires ravaging suburban Los Angeles the past week, the Wyoming National Guard is sending three C-130 military planes to help in ongoing containment efforts.

These planes will arrive in California equipped with the Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems and 40 personnel, according to a Wyoming National Guard press release.

The MAFFS are portable fire retardant systems that can be easily and efficiently set up inside C-130 planes to convert them into air tankers. According to the Wyoming National Guard, these planes are equipped to deliver up to 3,000 gallons of flame retardant in five seconds. Additionally, refilling can be as fast as 12 minutes, meaning these planes could quench flames at relatively short intervals.

The three Wyoming planes will be joined by four of the same type of aircraft from Colorado and will station themselves at the Channel Islands Air National Guard Base.

Los Angeles fires

The fires at the center of this interstate effort are five of the worst the Los Angeles area has ever seen. In total, the Palisades Fire and the four other wind-fed fires have already destroyed over 10,000 structures. Additionally, it has been estimated that over 10 people have already been killed.

The Palisades Fire alone has burned over 21,596 acres so far, according to the EPA’s AirNow program. The second biggest fire, the Eaton Fire, has burned at least 14,117 acres. Access to AirNow’s interactive fire map can be found here.

This is a developing situation and it is currently unclear how long out-of-state resources will be utilized in California. Additional updates on the Wyoming National Guard’s fire containment efforts can be found on the organization’s various social media pages, including on X, formerly known as Twitter.

See the below Wyoming National Guard images of the C-130’s deployment, courtesy of U.S. Air Force National Guard Staff Sgt. Zachary Herold.