DENVER – About 50 Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are providing aerial wildland firefighting and security capabilities to civil authorities in response to the Cold Springs fire near Nederland, Colorado.
The Colorado National Guard is operating under Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's executive order to assist the incident commander in fighting the Cold Springs fire.
Aircrews flying two UH-60 Black Hawk and one CH-47 Chinook helicopters equipped with Bambi Buckets, and two heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks (HEMTTs), loaded with fuel, based at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, arrived at Boulder Municipal Airport at about 9 a.m. Sunday and are assisting in suppressing the fire.
The Colorado National Guard is also activating additional personnel to man traffic control points at the request of civil authorities.
"The Colorado National Guard is here to help local, state, and federal authorities contain this fire as quickly as possible.We'll remain on scene as long as we're needed," said Air National Guard Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards, the state adjutant general.
During the High Park firefighting mission in 2012, the CONG dropped more than 50,000 gallons of water on the fire.