Story by Joseph Siemandel
Cooler temperatures and some wetting rains have greatly reduced the state’s fire risk, allowing the State Emergency Operations Center to reduce its activation to a Level 3 and giving aviation crews with the Washington National Guard some needed rest.
“Our response this year was great,” said Chief Warrant Officer Two Matthew Cameron, facility safety officer for the Washington Army National Guard Aviation and a Blackhawk pilot. “The whole team at every echelon reacted appropriately and sprung into action to get the first crews out. With as bad as this year was right off the bat, it was important to be efficient in getting fire crews out the door.”
Since late July, aviation crews flew more than 55 hours above the Retreat Fire, dropping nearly 200,000 gallons of water on the 45,000-acre blaze. Additionally, crews dropped 122 buckets of water, nearly 78,000 gallons, on the Williams Mine Fire (Skamania County), Stranger Creek Fire (Lincoln County) and Upper Ruby Fire (Pend Oreille County) before the firefighting mission ended.
The Washington National Guard has provided regular support to the Department of Natural Resources nearly every summer since 2012.
“I flew fires for the National Guard in 2020 and flew fires on the civilian side in 2022 and part of 2023 before flying for the National Guard again this year,” said Chief Warrant Officer Two Casey Hammond, a Blackhawk pilot with 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation. “Firefighting is my favorite mission hands down. While it is physically and mentally demanding, it is simultaneously rewarding. It is a mission that you know has a positive impact on the community and state, people you’ve never even met. The fact that you made a positive impact on a stranger, that alone makes the long days’ worth it.”
