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Fire Tankers Called to California

Oct. 24, 2007

This week California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the Pentagon to provide aircraft outfitted with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to help fight more than 16 wildfires that have raged across southern California, destroying nearly 700 homes and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee. The Air National Guard’s 173rd Airlift Wing at Cheyenne, Wyo., and 145th AW from Charlotte, N.C., and Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., have sent six MAFF-equipped aircraft to California.

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