The “Very Large Air Tanker” arrived in Georgia on Wednesday, May 10, to help fight the West Mims Wildfire. The fire continued to grow and stood at 143,893 acres and remained 12 percent contained Wednesday morning.
Evacuations still remained in effect in the Saint George area, and a number of roads have been closed. The number of firefighters battling the wildfire grew to 725 on Wednesday.
The DC-10 airplane used in fighting wildfires is called the “Very Large Air Tanker” or VLAT. The plane can drop 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in eight seconds, according to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This video shows the plane dropping fire retardant.
