NDF, National Guard firefighters train for wildfire season

ALPINE COUNTY, Calif. (KOLO) - The air attack - helicopters making repeated trips from a nearby water source to a wildfire. It’s part of the rhythm of the response to any major fire and for those on the sidelines often the most visible part of the battle.

And it’s effective. Ask anyone who has fought wildfires and they will tell you ultimately the fight is won on the ground, but these drops make a big difference.

“You need to be able to get in next to it in order to put the fire out and lots of gallons of water from these helicopters or retardant planes that’s what ultimately slows down the fire, puts it in check for people to get next to it,” says Brett Taylor, Heli-Tack Supervisor for the Nevada Division of Forestry.

But it requires close coordination by crews who, often from different agencies, don’t work together until needed.

“When you combine fire and aviation you’ve got the two most dangerous elements of this job together,” says Taylor, “and then you’re expecting people who don’t deal with them normally or with each other to work together. If they can calm the nerves now it becomes business as usual out on the fire and there’s less chance for injuries or accidents.”

So, they come here to this airstrip just over the border to practice. For veterans, the setting is familiar. The Alpine County Airport is just a mile or two from the Indian Creek Reservoir. It’s long been used not only for training but as a base for fighting nearby fires.

Last year at about this time they were doing the same training right here. A few weeks later they were putting that training to use as the forest around here was burning.

The surrounding mountains and hillsides show the devastation the Tamarack Fire left. It will take a generation or more to recover.

In the meantime, new seasons will bring new fires, and, unfortunately, we can expect the experience and skills gained here today will soon be needed.

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