SACRAMENTO – California is the first state in the nation to own, operate, and deploy a C-130 Hercules airtanker to fight wildfires and protect communities, the first of seven aircraft that the state is retrofitting and deploying.
Capable of flying 800 miles with a payload of 4,000 gallons of fire retardant, the C-130H now has the greatest speed and range of CAL FIRE’s airborne fleet.
Governor Gavin Newsom — in partnership with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Representative Ken Calvert — spearheaded this initiative for California to take on ownership of these aircraft, speed up the time to have them flying firefighting operations in California, and expand CAL FIRE’s firefighting capabilities.
“With the completed transfer of federal airtankers to Cal Fire, we are equipping California’s firefighters with significant new capabilities to protect our communities and save lives,” said Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). “Since entering the Senate, I’ve made pushing the Air Force to complete this transfer a top priority, and I passed legislation to get it done as quickly as possible. Now, California will be able to respond to wildfires more quickly and effectively as we face drier conditions and increasingly devastating fires.”
The journey to bring C-130H aircraft into service as CAL FIRE airtankers began in 2018 when California secured approval to acquire seven from the United States Coast Guard. After lengthy delays, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on December 14, 2023, enabling the transfer of aircraft from the federal government to California, where CAL FIRE will instead complete the aircraft’s retrofitting.
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