An Air National Guard C-130 Hercules from the 146th Airlift Wing streams a red plume of Phoschek fire retardant alongside the Plaskett II fire south of Big Sur, Calif., on July 27, 2000. The 146th is one of four Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units utilizing the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System to fight numerous forest fires burning in the Western United States. More than 2,300 service members from the Army, Marines, Air and Army Guard and Air Force Reserve are conducting fire fighting and support operations for the Western wildfires in response to requests from the National Interagency Firefighting Center in Boise, Idaho, and as directed by the governors of several states.