Governor David A. Paterson has directed the New York National Guard to assist the State of California in fighting forest fires this summer by providing one of the Nation’s only Firehawk helicopters. The helicopter is a modified Blackhawk helicopter, specially equipped to fight forest fires, and is one of only five in the United States.

The Florida Army National Guard will provide a six person crew to fly the Firehawk to California on Thursday, and once there, assist in fighting forest fires. New York’s Firehawk-trained pilots were not available due to their preparation for deployment to Balad, Iraq.

“No matter the state you are from, we have a responsibility to protect our citizens. We also have the moral obligation to provide assistance to other states when the need arises. This is such a time,” said Governor Paterson. “New York State plans to do everything we can to assist California in fighting these fires this summer.”

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “The cooperation between the federal government, locals and other states during this unprecedented situation has been extraordinary and made a huge difference in our efforts to battle more than 1,700 fires across California.”

Florida Governor Charlie Crist said: “I applaud our Florida emergency management team and our Florida National Guard who are always ready to respond to the needs of our people in difficult times. It is an honor to be able to help our fellow Americans in California, especially when we have received their help in the past.”

It is estimated that about 1,750 fires have burned 960 squares miles of California in the last two weeks, and according to news reports, more than 300 of those fires are currently uncontained. Hundreds of structures have been burned, and thousands of residents have been displaced, including a mandatory evacuation of all residents of Big Sur. It is estimated that some of these fires will not be contained for weeks.

California made the request for assistance on July 3 through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), an agreement between all 54 U.S. states and territories to share emergency management duties. California is one of just three states that have a Firehawk helicopter in their fleet. With New York’s assistance, they will now have use of two Firehawk helicopters.

The Firehawk helicopter is a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter specially configured to extinguish fires, and has been in New York’s aviation inventory since 2004 to assist local firefighters and the Department of Environmental Conservation to control wildfires in New York State.
The Firehawk water container can hold up to 1,000 gallons of water and can be filled to capacity in approximately 60 seconds. It is able to drop all or just part of its water payload. It can also be filled with other types of fire-retardant material such as foam.

The California Army National Guard will assume responsibility and cover all costs associated with New York’s aircraft until after the fire season is over sometime in October, 2008.

(YWN Desk – NYC)