MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — Two Wisconsin National Guard helicopters and approximately 15 Soldiers are en route to California to assist the California National Guard as it battles wildfires raging across the state.
The aircraft, along with crews and maintenance personnel departed Madison for California Friday after Wisconsin received a mutual aid request from California.
“This is what we train for,” said. Lt. Col. Kurt Southworth, the commander of the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation, in a press release. “We regularly train for search and rescue, fire suppression, and many other missions to support our fellow citizens and communities, so when this call came in, our crews were ready to answer the call in a short amount of time.”
The California National Guard is serving in support of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the crews from the Wisconsin National Guard will receive their specific mission taskings after arriving in California from the California Guard and local civil authorities there. The crews are prepared to employ water buckets to battle fires and take on any other assigned missions.
