An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Oct. 16, 2017

163d Attack Wing activates for California fire support

By Gregory Solman 163rd Attack Wing

MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. — Airmen of the California Air National Guard's 163d Attack Wing entered into their fifth day in support of civil authorities battling deadly wildfires across California.

The California Military Department activated several wing assets, including two MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, Oct. 10, having received the necessary approval from the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the Reapers in the domestic airspace.

Since then, the Reapers' infrared sensors yielded mission-critical thermal imagery on the afflicted area in real-time to CAL FIRE and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Airmen have mapped vast perimeters of six fires across four counties, compassing some 77,000 acres and identifying some 1,500 burned structures.

Liaison officers deployed to link the wing with the California National Guard and outside agencies at the Joint Operations Center in Sacramento. In addition, Airmen who staff the cutting-edge Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) deployed to an evacuation center at Napa Valley College, Napa, California, and are among 67 wing members called to fulfill the wing's domestic mission. With critical local infrastructure destroyed or damaged, the MEOC has served the immediate needs of evacuees, who were provided cell phone service and internet in order to communicate their status to family and friends.

So far, the Reapers have been deployed over the Cascade Fire in Yuba County; Cherokee Fire in Butte County; Nuns Fire in Sonoma County; Tubbs and Partrick Fires in Napa County; and the Atlas Fire, stretching from Napa to Sonoma counties.

The wing's new Hap Arnold Center has been tapped to provide data fusion between agencies and offers disaster response officials with a live and customizable common operating picture to use for incident planning and coordination.

The activation of the California National Guard immediately followed an emergency proclamation by Governor Jerry Brown, Oct. 10. More than 2,000 Guardsmen are actively supporting the disaster response and relief effort. Currently, 18 fires are burning in the state forcing over 20,000 evacuations.

Supporting California fire missions in 2013, the (then) 163d Reconnaissance Wing pioneered the use of remotely piloted aircraft for use in fighting wildfires.

The 163d Attack Wing, California Air National Guard, is one of five California Air National Guard units and is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. Known as the "Grizzlies," the 950-member unit conducts flight operations with the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. The wing has both a federal and state mission. A provision of the U. S. Constitution, the wing's dual mission results in each Guard member holding membership in the California National Guard and in the National Guard of the United States.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Chadley Simms, infantryman, 1st Battalion-157th Infantry (Mountain), Colorado Army National Guard uses handheld counter-unmanned aerial system equipment to neutralize a simulated drone threat during a drone warfare familiarization course at a Fort Carson, Colorado, training range, April 15, 2025. The course, led by the Drone Warfare Cell, part of the Multi-Domain Special Operations Cell at 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), COARNG, paired traditional guard members with special forces to build interoperability and strengthen joint UAS threat response capabilities. (U.S Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Melissa Escobar-Pereira)
Colorado Army Guard’s Drone Warfare Cell Reshapes Warfighting
By Melissa Escobar-Pereira, | June 17, 2025
WATKINS, Colo. - As the battlespace continues to evolve, so too must the tools and training of those who fight within it. Among the quiet forces reshaping U.S. warfighting readiness is a specialized group called the Drone...

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Garret Carstensen, 716th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, helps Sgt. Luis Romero don protective equipment before carrying out an EOD clearance of a simulated weapons of mass destruction chemical lab June 9, 2025, at AJ Dock, Juneau, Alaska, as part of Exercise ORCA 25. The exercise is a full-scale all-hazards chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives joint and interagency training exercise testing and evaluating the operational capability of the whole-of-government emergency management system. (Alaska National Guard photo by Maj. David Bedard)
Alaska National Guard Leads Exercise ORCA 2025
By Maj. David Bedard, | June 17, 2025
JUNEAU, Alaksa - Dressed in hazardous material protective suits, two Airmen from the Virginia National Guard slowly crept into a quiet building June 9 at AJ Dock on Juneau’s shore.Virginia National Guard’s 34th Civil Support...

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, Michigan Army National Guard, maneuver through the trenches during Exercise Baltic Viking near Alūksne, Latvia, June 8, 2025. Large-scale Combat Operations involve extensive military engagements, coordinated strategies, and significant resource deployment across vast areas.  The U.S. military participates in multinational training and exercises across Europe to increase lethality and strengthen partnerships with NATO allies and regional security partners.
Baltic Viking Enhances Michigan Guard Support for NATO, Latvia
By Staff Sgt. Joseph Novak, | June 17, 2025
CAMP ADAZI, Latvia — U.S. Army Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Michigan Army National Guard recently conducted training with soldiers from NATO Multinational...