Colorado officials have signed a deal that gives them access to a 747 airplane that can drop 19,200 gallons of water or retardant on wildfires as the state battles through one of the worst wildfire seasons in its history.
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control signed a contract with Colorado Springs-based Global SuperTanker to use the airplane, but must first install software required by the U.S. Forest Service to fight fires, said Caley Fisher, spokeswoman for the Colorado agency.
“Colorado is our home base, and there is nothing we’d like to be doing more than working alongside the brave men and women currently fighting some of the worst fires the state has ever seen,” Global SuperTanker CEO Jim Wheeler said.
Colorado and other western states will contract to use the B747-400, called The Spirit of John Muir, when fighting fires. It’s unclear when the plane will be available for use, Fisher said Friday.
The planes are equipped to release up to eight drops of water or fire suppressant at variable rates from pressurized tanks depending on requirements of specific wildfires.
Meantime, Peterson Air Force Base activated two C-130 Hercules planes to help fight fires primarily in Colorado and Wyoming, but also in the west. The planes can drop up to 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in six seconds, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The airplanes were available for use on Colorado wildfires on Thursday.