Hughes Fire: California Air National Guard releases video showing cockpit view of plane fighting the blaze
2025-01-24
Category: america

A dramatic video takes viewers inside the cockpit of a California Air National Guard plane being used to fight the growing Hughes Fire in Los Angeles County.&nbsp; The footage shows the low-flying C-130J Super Hercules&nbsp;dropping fire retardant as the flames were raging Wednesday in Castaic, a community near Santa Clarita.&nbsp; "Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) are the U.S. Forest Service’s portable fire-retardant delivery systems and can be inserted into military C-130 aircraft without major structural modifications to convert them into airtankers when needed," the California Air National Guard said.&nbsp; "They can discharge their entire load of up to 3,000 gallons of retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide, or they can make variable drops," it added. "Once a load is discharged from a MAFFS-equipped aircraft and the aircraft lands at a tanker base, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes."&nbsp; LA HUGHES FIRE ONLY 14% CONTAINED AFTER BURNING 10,000 ACRES&nbsp;  The Hughes Fire has now burned over 10,000 acres and remains just 14% contained, fire officials announced Thursday.&nbsp; The fire, first reported Wednesday morning, has quickly spread due to aggressive winds that have plagued firefighting efforts for weeks.&nbsp; LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: VETERAN FIRST RESPONDER SAYS ‘COOL DAD MOMENT’ WITH ROOKIE SON WAS YEARS IN THE MAKING&nbsp;  More than 4,000 fire personnel are assigned to the Hughes Fire, authorities say.&nbsp; "The weather is what is predominantly driving this fire and its spread right now. A red flag warning remains in effect until 10 a.m. Friday," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said in a statement. "It remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand."&nbsp;  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP&nbsp; The blaze has forced some 50,000 people to evacuate, and it also caused temporary road closures on Interstate 5 Wednesday.&nbsp; Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.&nbsp;