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Cal Guard and CAL FIRE ready for the fight

Story by Airman Serena Smith
Photos by Senior Airman Duane Ramos and Staff Sgt. Zak Lara
Video by Airman 1st Class Kevin Nious
California National Guard Public Affairs

April 28, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Service members with the California Military Department attended annual wildland firefighting training with their counterparts in the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Sacramento, California,, April 22-24, 2022, in preparation for the upcoming fire season.

“When CAL FIRE needs additional assets when it comes to fuel trucks, aircraft, personnel, maintenance, they come with us to work with flight facilities and make that happen,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 RJ Zanon, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot based at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos.

The training and partnership are crucial in preparing both CAL FIRE and Cal Guard for the upcoming fire season. The recent 2021 Dixie fire was the second largest fire in California, burning 963,309 acres of land.. 

With an ongoing drought creating dry conditions, CAL FIRE expects another eventful fire season. The exercises develop both teams for lifesaving and conservation of California’s land and natural resources. 

CAL FIRE teamed up with Soldiers and Airmen to practice aerial firefighting procedures. Crews assigned to five Cal Guard helicopters, including a CH-47 Chinook, three UH-60 Black Hawks, and one UH-72 Lakota, practiced picking up and dropping buckets of water. Cal Guard also sent three heavy expanded mobility tactical fuel trucks to the helibase to support in-field refueling needs. 

The pilots and crew members from the Cal Guard and CAL FIRE worked together, flying from Alan helibase near Ione, practiced flying with the heavy buckets, filling with water, and strategically dropping the water on a designated area nearby. The aircraft worked back-to-back, returning to the helibase to refuel. 

Although many participants are no stranger to California’s fires, the teams are thankful for the annual training. 

“Refreshing is always good, even if you are experienced. It’s different every year,” said U.S. Army Spc. Hailey France, a HEMMT truck refueler assigned to Cal Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility #2 in Stockton. “Complacency can happen, so it’s good to always refresh to make sure everything is on track to complete the mission.”

The collaborative efforts are important for the teams. Practice and preparation for a real-life event is key.

“Fires these days are getting very big and use up a lot of equipment,” said CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Tim Shiffer, cadre lead for the military cooperative agreement program. “All the private contractors are usually used up, and then we call in the Guard to come in and fill the void, to fight fires that are near homes and timber.”

The two teams use each other's assets to save lives and serve their communities.