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Since it began on June 23, the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado has forced thousands from their homes and has proven to be a significant challenge for firefighters and first responders in the Centennial State. Luckily, they will soon have help from some members of the Armed Forces to battle the flames, CBS affiliate KKTV reports.

The assistance comes in the form of the Air Force’s 302nd Airlift Wing, which is home to four modified C-130 aircrafts designed to battle fires. In fact, the planes, known as Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS), recently returned from helping douse flames in Texas. The planes can drop as many as 3,000 gallons of water or fire-retardant in five seconds. The call from Colorado did not come as a surprise to the Air Force.

"Since they’ve started, we have been monitoring the fires and have had our aircrews, aircraft and the MAFFS systems in a state of readiness anticipating a possible tasking from the U.S. Forest Service," Lt. Col. Luke Thompson told the news channel.

The military will not only be helping out from the air. The 721st Civil Engineer Squadron will also be contributing six firefighters along with a fire truck of their own, the news channel reports.