ESCONDIDO, Ca. - The National Guard is providing critical help to civilian authorities fighting Southern California's mammoth wildfires, national leaders said here Thursday, Oct. 25.
"Our National Guard personnel have provided very important assistance," President George W. Bush said during a visit to the fire scenes.
Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Maj. Gen. William Wade II, adjutant general of the California National Guard, were among leaders accompanying the president.
More than 2,500 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were assisting civilian authorities with firefighting efforts by the end of the week.
"The contribution of the National Guard is a five-star effort," said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein from California. "You've always responded, you've always responded professionally, and you've always responded with great compassion and dedication, and I'm really grateful for the National Guard."
Citizen-Airmen are dropping fire retardant from C-130 aircraft. Citizen-Soldiers are dropping water from UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, patrolling evacuated neighborhoods, manning traffic control points in support of civilian law enforcement agencies and providing other logistical support.
Among the National Guard's contributions:
- Air National Guard crews are dumping retardant from C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS).
- Full Motion Video Downlink on a National Guard RC-26B aircraft is providing imagery for incident commanders.
- The National Guard is providing state-of-the-art communications capabilities that are being used by local, state and federal agencies.
Lt. Col. Brian L. Ratchford, an aircraft commander with the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing, is one of the pilots flying missions in a MAFFS-equipped C-130 out of Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California.
"The size of this operation is enormous," Ratchford said. "The size of the response, the size of the fire is so much larger than I have ever done."
A pilot since 1987 and a veteran of every major U.S. combat mission since Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, Ratchford has fought California wildfires from the air before.
His goal this time? "We hope to fly as many missions as we can and drop as much retardant as we can," Ratchford said. "I would like to see all the fires out before we leave. This is really challenging flying, but it's also very gratifying. These aircraft are built for war but being used in support of American citizens and their property. I believe in every mission the Air National Guard has undertaken. It is especially gratifying to help someone protect their home and property."
Note: Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke contributed to this report.