Much of the southwestern corner of the U.S. has been plagued by wildfires in recent days due to extreme heat and dry conditions. As local firefighters respond to the flames, they are getting some assistance from the sky thanks to the Air Force. In Arizona, four C-130s have helped out by dropping thousands of gallons of fire retardant, according to Military.com.
The planes moved to the Grand Canyon state after helping out first responders in Colorado, and the pilots are pushing their planes as hard as they can go. They can drop about 3,000 gallons of liquid at once and are flying at just about 150 feet above the flames. It's not an easy job, but it's a necessary one.
"They are pushing the aircraft to its maximum performance," Ann Skarban, a spokeswoman for the 302nd Air Lift Wing told the website. "They are flying slow, low and heavy. They are working to draw lines of containment to break up or stop the fire."
The fires in Arizona have already been among the most damaging in recent memory. Last week, one fire in particular in Yarnell Hill claimed the lives of 19 firefighters.