The skies above Boise will be busy this week with military aircraft practicing for fire season.

The huge cargo planes are outfitted with a special firefighting system.

It’s vital the pilots, their lead planes, and ground crews have a chance to train before the fire season explodes.

KIVI-TV reports, last year was one of the worst fire seasons on record, and that has put a lot of pressure on the country’s eight military firefighting planes.

Last year, all eight C-130’s were in use, and dropped 2.5 million gallons of retardant.