With the California fires mostly under control, the aircrews supporting the massive fire fighting operation can finally begin to breathe.

At the height of the air mission, more than two dozen aircraft from as many as 14 states, as far away as New York, were assigned to Joint Task Force Sentinel. Aircrews endured the stifling heat and smoke, flying continuous fire-suppression missions and dropping nearly four million gallons of water on the flames that have scorched more than 900,000 acres, or an area roughly-equivalent to the size of Rhode Island.

According to Chief Warrant Officer Randy Kirkland, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot from the Alabama National Guard, the mission has been tough, yet rewarding.

“We’ve had to push the envelope with our aircraft due to the altitudes, temperatures and weight we’re dealing with,” he said. “We don’t normally have to push this hard when we’re supporting missions [in Alabama], which mostly consist of passenger transport, but the training we got when we arrived at Mather Field prepared us for this mission, and we’ve done it safely every time.”

Other crew members echoed Kirkland’s feelings.

“It was hectic at first,” said Spc. John Schultz, a crew chief with the unit. “We were mainly concerned with looking out for other aircraft, but our fire manager was extremely helpful, allowing us to stay focused.”

“Everyone settled in quickly,” said Sgt. Jim Irby, also a Black Hawk crew chief with the unit. “When we got here and were briefed, we weren’t expecting to get a mission right away, but 30 minutes later we were in the air and dropping water on the fires.”

Kirkland said the first mission, in which the crew made seven drops to protect communication towers on a hillside from being overrun by the flames, was a success.

Sergeant First Class Rick Baldwin, a Black Hawk crew chief from the Kansas National Guard, whose crew made more than 30 drops since arriving July 17, also commented on the differences in fighting fires in California.

“The terrain here is totally different, so it gets busy with many aircraft operating in the same small area,” Baldwin said. “We knew what we were doing on the bucket, but it’s still challenging, so the crew is definitely more alert.”

To watch these aircraft drop water oversimplifies what’s going on inside the aircraft. They perform the maneuvers with grace and precision, but the crewmembers are quick to point out it is much harder than it looks.

“It’s a little unnerving at first,” Sergeant Baldwin said. “The hardest part is picking out where we need to drop. We don’t want to waste any water hitting the wrong spot, so we’re constantly communicating with our fire manager and people on the ground.”

But, despite the challenges, the Guard effort, working with state, federal and civil authorities, has been seamless, something Rob Van Warmer, CAL FIRE Diablo Battalion chief and incident manager at Chico, credits to the effort’s success.

“The Guard has been fantastic, from the aircrews to the troops on the ground,” Van Warmer said. “This is a joint effort and it’s worked out really well. The Guard has helped us to identify things that will make our operation better going forward.”

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