Washington National Guard Continues Month-Long Wildfire Response

For more than a month, Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen have been supporting wildfire response operations across the state, providing aviation, hand crew and community support as fire conditions and mission requirements continue to evolve.

Since aviation operations began July 19, Washington Army National Guard aircrews from 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation and a CH-47 crew from the Montana Army National Guard have flown 382.2 hours, dropped 1,762 buckets and delivered 1,642,784 gallons of water while supporting six fires across central and eastern Washington.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the readiness of our aviation team when it mattered most. For over a month, they’ve logged nearly 400 flight hours in some of the most demanding environments in which an army aviator can operate. Every day they continue to show the professionalism, skill and discipline required to safely support the firefighters and communities counting on us.” said Lt. Col. Adam Hanisch, state aviation officer, Washington Army National Guard.

Weather, winds and smoke conditions continue to play a major role in day-to-day operations. Aircrews are navigating high altitudes, high winds, limited visibility, heavy smoke and extreme heat while operating around civilian aircraft, firefighters on the ground and areas where radio communications can be limited.

“Our air and ground crews are contesting with fire, smoke, heat, changing winds, mountainous terrain, saturated airspace and firefighters working below them,” said Hanisch. “That requires tremendous coordination, not just in the cockpit, but from everyone supporting that aircrew before, during and after every mission.”

The aviation mission requires more than skilled aircrews. Fuelers, maintainers, flight operations personnel and military liaisons work behind the scenes to keep aircraft in the air and crews ready to respond. Together, those teams have sustained more than a month of aerial firefighting operations as mission requirements have shifted across central and eastern Washington.

“When people see a helicopter dropping water on a fire, they see the aircrew, but there is an entire team behind every bucket we put on a fire. It takes pilots, crew chiefs, flight engineers, fuelers, maintainers, flight operations and administrative personnel all working together to ultimately deliver the General Support Aviation Battalion product, flying, fixing, fueling and providing flight operations in support of the ground commanders,” said Hanisch. “Every one of those soldiers is critical to what we’re doing, and we're incredibly proud of what they're delivering to Washington state right now.”

As the aviation mission continues, the Guard's support on the ground is also entering a new phase.

From Aug. 1-15, 105 Washington National Guard members assigned to five hand crews supported firefighting operations on the Little Giant Fire near Leavenworth. During the two-week mission, the crews worked more than 14,840 hours on the fire lines and improved more than 6.5 miles of fire line while supporting efforts to contain the approximately 131,000-acre fire. Working alongside firefighting agencies from across the country, Guard members conducted fire line construction, hose lays, mop-up, debris clearing, brushing, chipping and other demanding ground operations.

“These labor-intensive ground missions by our certified Guardsmen not only directly mitigated the threat to local residents but allowed for DNR to maximize their specialized resources elsewhere on the incident,” said Capt. Georgia Lamb, officer in charge of the hand crews.

With the first rotation complete, 120 additional Washington National Guard members are mobilizing and preparing to form five hand crews for the next phase of wildfire response operations, starting August 20. The new crews will continue providing trained personnel who can augment civilian firefighting resources as needs develop across the state.

“The morale among our second cycle of 114 Army Guardsmen is absolutely sky-high right now, and it really comes down to two big motivators. First, this mission gives these soldiers the opportunity to earn their official Firefighter Type Two certification, which is a highly respected professional credential. But even more than the training, there is a deep sense of personal pride in being able to accept the calling to directly protect their home state. These are Washington citizens helping Washington families, and that 'neighbors-helping-neighbors' mission is a massive driving force for them.” said Lamb.

Following the devastating Spokane Complex fires, Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen rapidly mobilized to assist local authorities in Spokane, where Guard members staffed traffic control points and entry points in support of the Spokane Police Department and Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

As conditions improved and local authorities reduced the number of traffic control points, Guard members transitioned to other community support requests, including assisting with the distribution of American Red Cross disaster relief kits.

“When Spokane needed help, we knew we couldn’t afford to be late. We pushed our systems and our people hard to move from request to response, getting soldiers and airmen on the streets supporting local authorities within hours. That’s what the National Guard is built to do," said Maj. Gen. Gent. Welsh, the adjutant general, Washington National Guard. "These are our communities, and when our partners need us, we have to be ready to respond quickly, adapt to what they need and get to work. I’m incredibly proud of how our team responded and the professionalism they showed while taking care of their fellow Washingtonians.”

Currently 180 Army National Guard and Washington State Guard members are mobilized on state active duty to support the one going fire mission.

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