Military Aids Waldo Canyon Fire Efforts
The Waldo Canyon Fire burns on the mountainside near U.S. Air Force Academy, Mountain Shadows and Peregrine neighborhoods, Tuesday evening. Photo by Devin Fisher
Press conferences at the Colorado Springs Incident Command center have had to handle many questions about the “lack” of involvement of the U.S. military in fighting the Waldo Canyon wildfire. There are several reasons why thousands of troops are not deploying to the fire lines. As the incident commander has stated, most have no training. In addition, as has also been pointed out, the military is the provider of last resort after all other options have been exhausted.
The National Guard is involved, deployed by authority of the various state governors. Several U.S. Air Force units have also responded through various pre-existing mutual aid agreements as well as as a provider of last resort.
The Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing is supplying two C-130H aircraft equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, joining with two planes from the Wyoming Air National Guard‘s 153rd Airlift Wing to drop fire retardant as needed. Making the fight especially personal for many of the flight crews and ground personnel at Peterson Air Force Base was the fact that their families were among the 32,000 local residents displaced by the fire.
Eighteen members of Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Hot Shot crew have arrived to help fight the Waldo Canyon fire.
Fort Carson has sent 24 firefighters and 8 vehicles to the fire. In addition, the post is hosting over 60 evacuees from the housing subdivisions on the Air Force Academy grounds. The installation commander issued an evacuation order for all residents in Pine Valley and Douglass Valley housing on the Air Force Academy June 26 after the fire overran two containment lines.
Family member Carla Vickery comforts Sandy, her domestic long-haired cat, at teh Youth Services Center, Wednesday. Vickery and Sandy were evacuated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Tuesday because of the Waldo Canyon Fire. Photo by Andrea Sutherland
Table of contents for Waldo Canyon Fire
- Colorado wildfires threaten more homes
- Waldo Canyon Fire Burns into Colorado Springs
- Waldo Canyon Fire Information Resources
- Military Aids Waldo Canyon Fire Efforts
- Waldo Canyon Fire Forces Academy Moves
- Firefighters Gain Ground in Colorado Fire
- Colorado Springs Begins Fire Recovery
- Gains Made on Waldo Canyon Fire
- Academy firefighters recognized for Waldo Canyon Fire efforts
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Waldo Canyon Fire
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Firefighting, Military, Original writing, Original writing, Reporting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
