With fire season around the corner, CAL FIRE and the California National Guard are once again training together to ensure California has every resource available to battle the state’s wildfires. Each year the two departments join forces to train military pilots to effectively make water drops on wildfires and how to safely integrate into a wildfire situations.
“The National Guard has been a great partner with CAL FIRE over the years and when our state is faced with numerous major wildfires, their help is critical,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CAL FIRE.
The annual joint helicopter training is planned for Friday, April 13 to Sunday, April 15, 2012 at the CAL FIRE Academy in Ione and at Lake Pardee in Amador County. CAL FIRE will be instructing National Guard helicopter pilots and crewmembers in basic incident management and firefighting operations so they can safely assist CAL FIRE during major fire sieges like those California faced in 2007 and 2008.
“This type of interagency training improves both safety and responsiveness,” said Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin, Adjutant General for the California National Guard. “This partnership leverages the resources of our two organizations to provide maximum capability to the fight, when and where it's needed.”
CAL FIRE and the California National Guard have conducted joint training since 1995.
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