HELENA, Mont. — The Montana National Guard is preparing to send a helicopter crew to Wenatchee, Washington to help with wildfire response as fires continue to burn across Washington state.
Gov. Greg Gianforte issued an executive order late last week to mobilize Guard members for the mission. National Guard leaders said 20 states and 100 jurisdictions are helping with the broader firefighting effort in Washington.
NonStop Local spoke with Guard leadership about what the team plans to do once it arrives. Leaders said the goal is to ease suffering, help put out fires and support people as they started putting their lives back together.
Noah Genger, the Montana National Guard’s joint director of military support, said he is confident in the team’s readiness.
“I have no hesitation in the abilities of our crews to plug right in and jump right into the fire operations,” Genger said.
Genger said five Montana National Guard members are set to fly a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to Wenatchee. He explained that the aircraft serves as a heavy-lift tool for wildfire suppression operations.
“We’ll send that over with a two-thousand-gallon bucket. They’ll get tied into the fire response and continue to help mitigate the wildfires,” Genger said. “It’s just three times the size of some of the other buckets that they use on the fires. It gives a great capability.”
Sgt. Zacariah Hodgskiss is serving as the crew’s flight engineer. His job is to monitor the water bucket as the crew fills it and flies it before releasing water over the fire.
Guard leaders said this is Hodgskiss’ first wildfire operation, but they noted he is working with crew members who have handled similar missions before. Chief Warrant Officer John Coleman is the pilot and commander for the operation.
Coleman said the communication side of the mission matters, especially while helping a crew member on a first wildfire deployment.
“Being on a fire and the communication piece and the flying aspect of it and being able to relay that to him I think is important,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the crew expects to leave for Washington Tuesday morning and remain there for 15 days. He also said the team is ready to provide added help in a neighboring state facing major fire issues.
“Being able to help out people in need when it comes to emergencies and with Washington having all the fire issues that they’re having, being able to go help out a friend in need is awesome,” Coleman said.