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 | Sept. 1, 2023

National Guard Fights Louisiana Wildfires From the Air

By Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

NEW ORLEANS – National Guard helicopter crews from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama have dropped more than 1.1 million gallons of water on wildfires in western Louisiana since Aug. 23.

The helicopter crews continue the firefighting mission in Beauregard, Sabine and Vernon Parishes in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office and local agencies.

The helicopter crews use buckets to draw water from any open water source and carry and drop it onto fires.   

The augmentation to the LANG aerial firefighting efforts, through Emergency Management Assistance Compact support from the Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas National Guard, has resulted in a rotation of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and CH-47 Chinook helicopters that have provided over 385 flight hours of aid from the time LANG assets were activated in response to the wildfires.
 

 

 

Related Articles
The Louisiana National Guard’s 1-141st Field Artillery Battalion had its two AN/TPQ-53 radar systems, mounted on 5-ton tactical trucks, modified and its software upgraded at the Unit Training Equipment Site at Camp Villere in Slidell, Louisiana, Jan. 14, 2025.
Louisiana National Guard Upgrades Advanced Radar Systems
By Staff Sgt. David C. Kirtland, | Feb. 10, 2025
NEW ORLEANS - The Louisiana National Guard’s 1-141st Field Artillery Battalion recently completed critical upgrades to its two AN/TPQ-53 radar systems at the Unit Training Equipment Site at Camp Villere in Slidell. The radar...

Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program Cadet Myles Dean of West Monroe was recognized during the Class 2024-1 graduation ceremony at the Pentecostals of Alexandria Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Dec. 14, 2024. Dean earned the class’s highest academic marks, including an ACT score of 32 out of 36, an ASVAB score of 93 out of 99, and a HiSET score of 98 out of 100.
Louisiana Guard Youth Challenge Program Marks 30 Years
By Sgt. Danny Hough, | Dec. 18, 2024
PINEVILLE, La. – Families and friends filled the sanctuary at the Pentecostals of Alexandria Church in Alexandria to watch 118 cadets graduate from the Louisiana National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program Class Dec. 14.The...

Louisiana Army National Guardsmen assigned to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package check for contamination levels at a collapsed building at Guardian Centers of Georgia, Perry, Georgia, Dec. 3, 2024. The CERFP conducted a training exercise culminating in a National Guard Bureau evaluation Dec. 1–7.
Louisiana Guard Conducts Disaster Response Training
By Sgt. First Class Gregory Stevens, | Dec. 11, 2024
PERRY, Ga. – The Louisiana National Guard Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package conducted a training exercise in Georgia culminating in a National Guard Bureau...