As Helenans were making their daily commutes to work Tuesday morning, a Montana Army National Guard helicopter crew aboard a twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook was on its way to work in Washington.
The five-soldier unit deployed under orders issued by Gov. Greg Gianforte last week to assist firefighting efforts on the historically devastating fires in and around Spokane. The mission is expected to last 14-15 days.
Four of the soldiers will return at the end of the mission, but because one of the soldiers is a maintainer attached to the Chinook, he will return when the bird comes home.
If there is demand, a second mission will be considered with four new soldiers, but the helicopter will remain in Washington through the swap-out of soldiers, a Guard official said.
On Monday, the soldiers ran 15 training buckets to freshen up on the process, said mission lead pilot Chief Warrant Officer 3 John Coleman.
He said he and his team are eager to aid firefighting efforts in Washington, emphasizing that helping people is why people sign up for the Guard.
"It's why a lot of us, if not all of us, join," he said on the mission.
Gianforte issued the executive order mobilizing the Guard last Friday.
“As the state of Washington and the City of Spokane face unprecedented wildfires, Montana is joining the nearly two dozen states sending resources to support fire response efforts,” Gianforte said in a statement. “Deploying these resources will not compromise our ability to respond to any current fire activity in Montana and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation remains ready to continue executing an aggressive initial attack on all fire starts.”
The fires in Spokane, including one started by an alleged arsonist who is accused of planning the fire weeks in advance, have destroyed more than 900 structures and displaced an estimated 60,000 people while burning more than 10,000 acres.
Washington’s governor requested support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact; resources from more than 20 states and 100 jurisdictions are supporting the fire response.
Gianforte’s executive order states that if Montana’s fire situation worsens, he could recall the resources to aid firefighting efforts here.
Independent Record editor Blair Miller and reporter Christine Compton contributed to this report.