Air Guard fights eastern Washington wildfires

Photo By Master Sgt. Timothy Chacon | Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Garvida, 248th Civil Engineering Flight Engineering Assistant Superintendent, assists the Washington State Department of Natural Resources fight wildfires near Inchelium, Washington Sept 16, 2020. Garvida as well as 14 other Air National Guardsmen from the 194th Wing and 225th Air Defense Group spent 10 days fighting fires in Eastern Washington. The crew assisted with the Whitney Fire near Davenport Washington, as well as the Kewa field fire and Inchelium Complex fire on the Colville Reservation. (Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Tim Chacon)  

CAMP MURRAY, WA, UNITED STATES

09.24.2020

Story by Capt. Hans Zeiger 

194th Wing

CAMP MURRAY, Wash.—A wildland firefighting hand crew consisting of 15 members of the Washington Air National Guard’s 194th Wing and one member of the 225th Air Defense Group returned to Camp Murray on Wednesday after a week and a half supporting the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fight against wildfires in eastern Washington. The team helped in mop-up work at the Whitney Fire near Davenport, Washington as well as the Kewa Field fire and Inchelium Complex fire near Inchelium, Washington on the Colville Reservation.

For their first four days on wildfire support, the crew worked its way in a grid formation through eight miles of cattle grazing lands and other open spaces on the Whitney Fire line, checking for hot spots. “We used everything we learned in our training course with the DNR, and we brought it out here and honed in on our skills and were able to accomplish dry mopping at the Whitney Fire after the big burn, checking for underground fires going on and being able to dig them up,” said Senior Airman Tyler Richardson of Port Orchard, a member of the 194th Intelligence Squadron. On the team’s final day on the Whitney Fire line, they worked with the DNR team to dig around an area that was still burning, said Richardson.

“We were able to put out a lot of the hotspots,” said Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Garvida of Kent, a member of the 248th Civil Engineer Flight.

For Staff Sgt. Waylen Anderson, a member of the 194th Intelligence Squadron, service on the Whitney Fire line came close to home. Anderson grew up in Reardan, Washington, about 12 miles away from Davenport. “Being able to be part of the process, that’s a big deal out here,” he said.

One Airman said that he could see the impact of the team’s work on livestock and people in the Davenport area. “It was good to see cattle,” said Senior Airman Sean Tarbell of Port Orchard, a member of the 116th Weather Flight. “It helps to put it in perspective. One of the DNR guys [shared] the perspective that if you see cattle, that’s someone’s livelihood, that’s someone’s livestock.”

Tarbell said that he could see the human impact of the wildfire. “You don’t have grass, you can’t feed the cattle,” which people depend on to make a living, he said. “That’s what it was for me: it’s people.”

Senior Airman Melvin Williamson of Thurston County, a member of the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron, said he found comfort in “knowing that [we] really did help these people. That felt rewarding to me.”

According to Senior Airman Nicholas Alejo, a member of the 194th Communications Flight, community members in the Davenport area expressed their thanks to Airmen as they worked. “Every once in a while somebody would honk and wave at us, so I think they definitely appreciate us out here,” said Alejo.

Expressions of thanks continued in Inchelium. Garvida recalled when crew members were driving into a local gas station to refuel their vehicles, and “local folks were waving and very appreciative of what we were doing out there.”

The crew went to work on two fires on the Colville Reservation, covering two miles of dry mopping on the Kewa Field fire before moving to dry and wet mopping work on the Inchelium Complex fire, covering seven additional miles, according to Maj. Matthew Rieger of Bothell, a member of the 248th Civil Engineer Flight and the wildfire crew officer in charge.

Before they concluded their work at the Inchelium Complex, Airmen took on the additional responsibility of wet mopping, carrying large bags of water and using a hose from a water truck to address hot spots, said Rieger. On the final day, they had to climb up a steep hill as they worked to mop up a control burn, according to Garvida.

Airmen received daily briefings, instructions, and training from DNR workers and took part in a large multi-agency operation. “I love seeing the whole picture come together,” with DNR and various local and state agencies collaborating, said Staff Sgt. Jordan Prior of North Bend, a member of the 262nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron. In addition to the 16-member crew from the 194th Wing and the 225th Air Defense Squadron, crews from the Air Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing and the Army Guard’s 96th Troop Command took part in the fire fight.

Garvida said that he was inspired by the Airmen who served with him. “All the folks I was with had high spirits,” he said. “We were able to maintain that from day one all the way to the end. I was really impressed by the crew I was with.”

• Date Taken: 09.24.2020
• Date Posted: 10.01.2020 18:06
• Story ID: 378597
• Location: CAMP MURRAY, WA, US