Press Release
☷West Virginia Guard Fighting Wildfires From the Air
National Guard ( By Press Release office)
Mar 24,2024
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Two Black Hawk helicopters from the West Virginia National Guard , along with their crew , are assisting the West Virginia Division of Forestry and local government and emergency management officials in battling large - scale wildfires in Hardy County . This deployment was in response to a state of emergency declared by Governor Jim Justice for Grant , Hampshire , Hardy , and Pendleton counties due to extensive forest fires . The local emergency management officials requested support from the National Guard through the West Virginia Emergency Management Division . The Guard is always ready to provide assistance to our partners at the local and state levels . The experienced aircrews are using an aerial firefighting system with buckets that can hold 630 gallons of water . They dip these buckets into local water sources and drop the water as directed by ground crews to contain or extinguish the fire in difficult terrain . The West Virginia National Guard has previous experience in firefighting efforts , both in California and at home . They will continue to support the firefighting efforts until the Division of Forestry determines that the danger has passed . The crews involved in this incident are from Company C , 1 - 150th Assault Battalion , headquartered in Wheeling , and Company C , 2 - 104th General Support Aviation Battalion , headquartered in Parkersburg . Additional personnel and equipment may be deployed if necessary .
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