Thinking that using military crewed C-130's for firefighting is cheaper than contractors is not correct. You don't just ask a mil crew to quickly do a few water drops in between their normal job. Operating firefighting aircraft is a totally different flying skill than you can imagine. Crews must be trained, then skills maintained, to operate safely. Military crews are extraordinary at what they do, but they don't fight fires. If you want to add it to their to-do list, you need to equip them, then train them, then maintain all the skills = LOTS of money. Plus, you are going to eat into the life of the a/c like you won't believe.
Every nation, everywhere, seem to look at firefighting costs the same way. Governments budget an unrealistically low number, hoping the fire season will be small. Fire seasons are increasingly becoming longer and more intense. There is no cost once a fire starts destroying property or lives, especially when it starts into a town or city.
Also, the CL-415 is not just a water scooper. It is a very rugged short field a/c that can land anywhere and be reloaded on the ground in minutes. I'm not trying to sell any airplanes, just pointing out what I think the best all-round medium water bomber is.
DC