AUGUST 21, 2025 – Nevada National Guard aerial firefighting efforts have intensified this month as temperatures rise.
Nevada Army National Guard aviators activated 22 Soldiers on Aug. 3, operating one CH-47 Chinook and one UH-60 Black Hawk from the Army Aviation Support Facility at Stead to support the Nevada Division of Forestry, or NDF, in Elko County.
The Jakes Fire, among others, burnt more than 80,000 acres in northwestern Elko County.
“Nevada’s expanding partnership with NDF has gone beyond dropping buckets of water. It has also moved into supporting firefighters on the ground with movement, food delivery and logistics and medevac support,” said Lt. Col. Dillon Sauer, 991st Aviation Troop commander. “It’s another example of the National Guard being always prepared to support the citizens of Nevada.”
Nevada Army aviators remained on orders last week, dropping more than 70,000 gallons of water, transporting about 200 personnel and delivering more than 500 meals for hand crews teams working with the NDF in Elko County.
“We even helped move a UTV [utility task vehicle] that had its front steering break,” said Maj. Chris Sandin, Nevada Army aviation operations officer.
On Aug. 15, moments after receiving the call for standby to return to Elko County, the state requested Nevada Army Guard aviation support to the Rancho Fire to relieve overworked crews on the blaze burning north of Reno.
The Soldiers, who had been briefly placed on standby from their work in Elko County, almost immediately began their response to the Rancho Fire, about 30 miles north of their home station outside Reno. They worked five hours on Aug. 15, dropping more than 20,000 gallons of water between the two aircraft involved.
Nevada Army aviators went off orders Aug. 16 after the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District reported that the Rancho Fire’s forward progress had been stopped.
Additionally, the Nevada Air National Guard was activated for the second time this fire season on Aug. 12, with orders to report to the Colorado Springs Airtanker Base. That request was for one C-130 H from the 152nd Airlift Wing in Reno. The 152nd Airlift Wing has 19 aircrew members supporting the mission. On the first day, they supported efforts with five drops totaling 13,900 gallons of fire retardant on the Crosho Fire in Rio Blanco County, Colo.
For its nationwide firefighting mission, the Nevada Air National Guard answers calls with the U.S. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, which loads into the back of a C-130 and can discharge water or fire retardant – 3,000 gallons weighing 27,000 pounds – in less than five seconds.
As of Aug. 15, the 152nd Airlift Wing reported dropping 22,670 gallons of fire retardant on 10 sorties last week.
By Capt. Emerson Marcus
Nevada National Guard