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ARNORTH concludes military wildland fire ground response operation in California

By Lauren PaddenSeptember 29, 2021

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - At the request of the National Interagency Fire Center, and in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command, concluded its wildland fire ground response operation in California.

2-3 Infantry Soldiers patrol containment line
U.S. Army Soldiers from the 2-3 Infantry Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, led by strike team crew boss Ricardo Rubio, a National Interagency Fire Center fire fighter, walk down a vehicle trail as they look to hold and patrol containment lines while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, California, Sept. 4, 2021. U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands.(U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Deion Kean) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Deion Kean) VIEW ORIGINAL

Approximately 200 Soldiers from the 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion and the 2-3 Infantry Battalion, both from the 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, I Corps, who supported the Dixie Fire in Northern California, returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington after a month-long mission that began August 30.

“As defenders of the homeland, it is our duty and our honor to support the National Interagency Fire Center’s efforts to suppress the Dixie Fire and protect those threatened by it,” said Lt. Gen. John R. Evans, Jr., ARNORTH commander. “I am incredibly proud of our Soldiers for adapting so quickly to this new environment and unique mission, and achieving, alongside our interagency partners, 94 percent containment of the fire.”

The Dixie Fire, which started July 13, 2021, is the second largest wildfire in California’s history. It has burned just shy of one million acres across the Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and in five counties.

U.S. Army Pfc. Alexandria Reid, from 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, hands off a pile of recently cut down tree branches to her teammate to avoid the potential spread of fire while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands.
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Pfc. Alexandria Reid, from 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, hands off a pile of recently cut down tree branches to her teammate to avoid the potential spread of fire while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands. (Photo Credit: Spc. Ashleigh Maxwell) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Soldiers from the 2-3 Infantry Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, use their tools and boots to level native tribal land as part of recovery operations while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, California, Sept. 19, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands.
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Soldiers from the 2-3 Infantry Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, use their tools and boots to level native tribal land as part of recovery operations while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, California, Sept. 19, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands. (Photo Credit: Sgt. Yesenia Barajas) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Estrada, 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, moves tree branches to a consolidated pile of excess branches in an effort to eliminate possible fire fuels while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands.
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Estrada, 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, moves tree branches to a consolidated pile of excess branches in an effort to eliminate possible fire fuels while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands. (Photo Credit: Sgt. Yesenia Barajas) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Spc. Matthew Dunphy, from the 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, saws through a recently fallen tree to clear the road of potential hazards before reopening the roads to the public while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 22, 2021. Under National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards, the chainsaw operator is ultimately responsible for controlling the work zone. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands.
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Spc. Matthew Dunphy, from the 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, saws through a recently fallen tree to clear the road of potential hazards before reopening the roads to the public while deployed in support of the Department of Defense wildland firefighting response operations on the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, California, Sept. 22, 2021. Under National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards, the chainsaw operator is ultimately responsible for controlling the work zone. U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command remains committed to providing flexible DoD support to the National Interagency Fire Center to respond quickly and effectively to assist our local, state, and federal partners in protecting people, property, and public lands. (Photo Credit: Spc. Ashleigh Maxwell) VIEW ORIGINAL

Active duty Soldiers supporting the Dixie Fire worked under the command of Dual Status Commander, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley as the Joint Task Force California commander. Additionally, across the state, the California National Guard provided several hundred Soldiers and Airmen as part of Type II hand crews, as well as multiple rotary wing aircraft for water bucket operations, and military police ground units for traffic control and security. Together, the CANG and the U.S. Air Force also provided eight C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to help fight fires from the air across the Western states.

The JFLCC, through USNORTHCOM, is the primary Department of Defense organization for coordinating defense support of civil authorities to help federal partners, like NIFC, respond to natural or man-made disasters.

For additional photos and/or videos, visit:

https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NIFC.

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