Massive air tanker will battle California wildfires

(KTLA) - The state of California has a new tool to battle forest fires—and it's a big one.

California is the first state in the nation to own, operate and deploy a C-130 Hercules airtanker to fight wildfires. It's the first of seven similar aircraft that the state is retrofitting for that purpose.

The Hercules is capable of flying faster and further than any other aircraft in CAL FIRE's fleet, with a range of 800 miles and a payload of 4,000 gallons of fire retardant, state officials announced.