(CNN) Bolivia just got a huge helping hand in the fight to keep raging fires in the Amazon rainforest at bay.

Colorado-based Global SuperTanker sent its Boeing 747-400 firefighting plane to the South American country Friday to conduct firefighting missions over part of Bolivia's portion of the rainforest, the company announced.

The B747-400 SuperTanker is in the category of Very Large Airtankers (VLAT) used for fighting fires. It is capable of dropping around 19,000 gallons of retardant per trip, according to the company's website

Bolivian President Evo Morales tweeted earlier this week that he ordered the hiring of a Boeing 747 SuperTanker to help the firefighting effort in the Chiquitania region.

This is the #SuperTanker taxiing in from our first mission of the day in Bolivia #BoliviaFires pic.twitter.com/sUbnCBAZHo — Global SuperTanker (@GlobalSuperTank) August 24, 2019

The Amazon spans eight countries, including Bolivia, though the majority of the forest is in Brazil. Often called "the planet's lungs," the Amazon forest produces about 20% of the world's oxygen.

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