- NEW: The Air Force order affects C-130s equipped with certain firefighting equipment
- NEW: A military spokesman reports "casualties" in the South Dakota crash, but not how many
- That crew's military air tanker went down while fighting a wildfire
- That tanker was helping fight the so-called White Draw Fire burning near Edgemont
(CNN) -- The U.S. Air Force is grounding all firefighting-equipped C-130 planes after one crashed while helping subdue a blaze Sunday in southwest South Dakota, said a military spokesman.
Air Force spokesman Todd Spitler announced that C-130s that have the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, or MAFFS, won't fly until further notice. The South Dakota crash follows a similar one, along the Nevada-Utah border, several weeks earlier.
The Air Force describes MAFFS as "a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100-feet wide."
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Colorado man heads home after wildfires The decision came hours after a C-130 tanker crashed around 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. ET) while fighting the so-called White Draw Fire burning near Edgemont, South Dakota, the military said.
Robert Carver, a spokesman with the North Carolina Air National Guard -- which operated the plane -- said Monday afternoon that "there were casualties," though he did not identify the number or nature of them.
He said "there were survivors," but again he did not say how many. Six crew members are typically assigned to the plane for a mission, according to Carver.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, he said.
The wildfire has scorched 4,200 acres since it began Friday, according to InciWeb, a multistate fire response website. The fire, which is being fueled by dry brush and trees, is 30% contained. No homes were threatened, InciWeb reported.
The wildfire is one of many burning in western states, including Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
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It was the second time within two months that an air tanker has crashed.
An air tanker crashed in mountainous terrain in western Utah on June 3, killing two pilots, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear what type of tanker -- which was owned by Neptune Aviation Services of Missoula, Montana -- that was. But Carver said Monday that there had been no crashes of firefighting-equipped C-130s until Sunday.
The tanker was on its second run of the day fighting the White Rock Fire along the Nevada-Utah border. That fire, which began June 1, was 100% contained on June 9, fire officials said.
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CNN's Chris Lawrence and Maria White contributed to this report.
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