From Colorado National Guard News Releases: Nearly 75 Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were activated to aid civil authorities at the Cold Springs fire near Nederland.
A Colorado Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, CO, drops water in support of civil authorities at the Cold Spring Fire in Nederland, Colo., July 11, 2016. / U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY SSG JOSEPH K. VONNIDA
Operating under Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s executive order to assist the incident commander in fighting the fire, aircrews from the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment based at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, flew two UH-60 Black Hawk and one CH-47 Chinook helicopters equipped with Bambi Buckets, and drove two heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks (HEMTTs) loaded with fuel, to the Boulder Municipal Airport from where they staged their fire suppression operations.
A Colorado Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 2-135th General Support Aviation Battalion from Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colo., heads to the Cold Springs firefighting effort July 11, 2016 with a full Bambi Bucket. / U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY STEVEN LEFLAR
The fire began on Saturday, July 9, after a campfire was improperly extinguished according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management and grew to over 500 acres as the result of strong, shifting winds. It was fully contained by July 14th following aerial wildland firefighting operations during which CONG aircrews had dropped 100 buckets carrying 156,500 gallons of water.
