Colorado National Guard assists with Cold Springs fire response

By Lt. Col. Elena O'BryanJuly 12, 2016

Colorado National Guard assists with Cold Springs fire response
A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Colorado Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 135th General Support Aviation, drops 500 gallons of water from a specialized bucket onto the Lower North Fork Fire in the vicinity of Conifer Colo., March 28, 2012.... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Nearly 75 Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been activated to aid civil authorities at the Cold Springs fire near Nederland.

Colorado National Guard aircrews, based at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, returned to Boulder Municipal Airport at about 9 a.m. July 10 in two UH-60 Black hawk helicopters and one CH-47 Chinook helicopter to join forces with civilian wildland firefighting aircrews.

"Guard aircrews will remain on scene until sunset tonight and will return each day until the mission is complete as determined by the incident commander. We're actively suppressing the fire to assist our interagency partners to protect lives, livestock, and property," said Colorado Army National Guard State Army Aviation Officer Maj. Troy Brown.

By the close of aerial wildland firefighting operations yesterday, Colorado National Guard aircrews had dropped 100 buckets carrying 156,500 gallons of water on the Cold Springs fire.

The Colorado National Guard has also deployed 10 Soldiers and four High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) from the 1/157th Infantry Battalion Forward Support Company, based in Windsor. They are manning two traffic control points near the fire at the request of civil authorities.