Tennessee's own Army National Guard has been called into action to aid in battling a wildfire that has erupted in Polk County. According to the by the Tennessee Department of Military official website, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency requested the Guard's assistance and they've responded by deploying two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion based in Knoxville.
The response teams lifted off from McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base early morning, with missions commencing at around 8:30 and 8:45 a.m., CDT, heading towards a difficult patch of terrain just southeast of Turtletown, along the North Carolina border. The area’s challenging topography has rendered it virtually inaccessible to those fighting the wildfire on the ground, as reported by the Tennessee Department of Military.
Equipped with Bambi Buckets, each helicopter has the ability to unleash hundreds of gallons of water onto the fire. Nearby water sources provide the necessary ammunition to combat the aggressive fire, enabling precision drops in the areas that most require them. It's reported that these Blackhawk helicopters, alongside their crews, are also ready to perform a variety of support missions for the first responders on the scene, as per the Tennessee Department of Military.
Demonstrating the Guard's commitment to the people, the aircrews and soldiers have been prepared to aid in these firefighting efforts for as long as necessary, according to information provided by the Tennessee Department of Military's announcement. This poses the latest example of the complex coordination between military resources and civilian agencies in the face of natural disasters.
