Nevada Army Guard aviators prepare for fire season

Photo By Staff Sgt. Walter Lowell | A CH-47 Chinook assigned to the 2/238th, G-Company General Support Aviation Battalion, Nevada Army National Guard, drops water on a simulated fire during a training event geared to prepare for fire season at Alpine County Airport, Calf. May 15, 2017. The baskets used by the CH-47’s can hold 2000lbs of water and can be filled in local lakes and ponds. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Walter H. Lowell)  

CA, UNITED STATES

05.15.2017

Story by Sgt. Walter Lowell 

Nevada Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs

ALPINE COUNTY AIRPORT, Calf. – Nevada Army Guard aircrews from 2/238th, G Company, and 1/189th, B Company, General Support Aviation Battalion, participated in a cooperative wilderness firefighting exercise here Monday to prepare for a potentially challenging fire season.
The Nevada Guard and Nevada Division of Forestry co-hosted the exercise that featured a mobile command center, several ground teams, two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and one NDF UH-1 Huey.
“We use the Alpine County Airport training area because it allows us to practice different methods of firefighting,” said Capt. Nigel Harrison, the commander of 2/238 GSAB.
Interstate agreements are in place with Nevada and its neighbors ensuring cooperative fire suppression efforts across the western states. If a wildland fire were to spark up in rural Alpine County, Calif., it’s realistic to expect the Nevada National Guard and NDF to help suppress a potential fire across the state line.
August Isernhagen, a helitech supervisor with the Nevada Division of Forestry, oversaw the exercise from a ground command post.
He said about four years ago, multiple agencies recognized the importance of refining the coordination between Army aviation staff and ground crews in advance of fire season. Since then, multiple organization have participated in the pre-season training annually.
“We are working with the National Guard on how to perfect their bucket drops when we are on fires,” Isernhagen said.
In addition to the Nevada Army Guard and NDF, personnel from the East Fork Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Black Mountain Hotshots – a group of elite wildland firefighters – also participated.
Harrison said Chinook water buckets hold 2,000 gallons of water and a Black Hawk “Bambi Bucket” can carry about 700 gallons.
During the exercise, the helicopters flew rotating flight paths from the airport to a nearby lake and then to sites designated by ground crews that simulated mock fires. The ground crews then informed the aircraft crews the precise location of where they needed to drop the water on the simulated fire. After dispersing the water, the helicopter would return to the lake to refill its bucket as the next helicopter approached.
“The number one objective is to get the Guard aviators familiar with the way procedures work on fires,” Isernhagen said. “The second objective is to get ground personnel from different departments comfortable communicating with the aircraft.”
Isernhagen said it is important agencies conduct their training now because it’s likely many of the participating agencies will be responding to real-world fires within a few short weeks.
Isernhagen said there is no way to predict if the recent wet winter will cause a busy season for fire crews this summer. The early months of 2017 saw record-breaking rainfall in Nevada that fueled the growth of wildland grass that could potentially dry up and increase the threat of widespread fires.
“Preparing for the season now is key because the fires can kick up at any time as soon as it starts getting hot,” Harrison said. “We are ready to go; the Division of Forestry and the citizens of Nevada can count on us.”

• Date Taken: 05.15.2017
• Date Posted: 06.20.2017 13:34
• Story ID: 235154
• Location: CA, US
• Hometown: RENO, NV, US