Air Guard Planes to Fight Chico Fires

Two specially equipped fire-fighting planes left the Channel Islands Air National Guard Station early Tuesday, en route to help battle 150 wildfires blazing near the Northern California town of Chico.

The two C-130 Hercules and 38 crew members from the 146th Airlift Wing will join the California Department of Forestry’s efforts in fighting the fires, which were started by lightning storms. The Air National Guard planes will drop chemical fire retardant on the flames, said Col. Ed Bellion, vice commander of the 146th Airlift Wing. If the Northern California heat subsides, the unit could be home within the week, Bellion said. Otherwise, the mission could stretch on.

“We know it’s really smoky and really hot,” Bellion said. “If they get a lot more thunderstorms, it could get worse.”

This is the unit’s first evacuation of the year. Plans to assist in fighting an oil fire started during Turkey’s catastrophic earthquake last week were called off when the fire was controlled, Bellion said.