From Fires to Floods: Nevada National Guard saw busiest year ever for natural disaster response

CARSON CITY — As the Nevada National Guard prepares to enter 2018, a look back on the Silver State’s past year reveals an unprecedented request for domestic response activations, not just in Nevada and northern California, but also places around the nation, ranging from Oregon to Puerto Rico.

Never in its history has the Nevada National Guard activated so many of its 4,300 uniformed personnel in one year for domestic response missions.

State activations for floods occurred often in the first half of the year as a result of a record-setting winter. January storms prompted the first activations and snowmelt in the spring resulted in the largest stateside activation, even larger than the record-setting flood of 1997. The Nevada National Guard stayed busy in response to Hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and fires around the American West in the second half of the year. Here's a look back on those activations:

• Nevada Guardsmen transported potable water, supported evacuations and helped with snow removal, in Lockwood, Nev., and Virginia City, Nev., during flooding in January. Additionally, Soldiers transported a water tank, commonly referred to as a “water buffalo,” with 400 gallons for citizens of Sutcliffe, Nev., a town on Pyramid Lake tribal land about 40 miles north of Reno. “The entire town was without water (after rainfall damaged water piping to the town) and the weather isn’t making it any easier for them,” Sgt. 1st Class Justin Juliot, 991st Multi-Functional Brigade, said last January. “They were really thankful to get the water.”

• Following President Donald Trump’s approval of major disaster declaration for northern Nevada, Guardsmen activated for the state’s largest natural disaster domestic response operation in its history in March. About 140 Soldiers moved sandbags for residences and equipment for the construction of a 4-mile HESCO wall — a 4-foot-tall barrier supported by 12,000 yards of sand — in an attempt to contain flood water and alleviate damage. Large standing bodies of water — where there was no water during the four-year drought leading up to 2017 — still remains throughout the region. The HESCO wall and movement of sandbags helped save homes in the region, Washoe County officials said. "The magnitude of the response and the way Soldiers and Airmen answered the call on short notice truly shows the Nevada Guard's dedication to its state," Brig. Gen. Zachary Doser, then-Director Joint Staff, Nevada National Guard, said during the response. Most of the Soldiers working in Lemmon Valley hailed from the Nevada Army Guard's 1859th Transportation Company, 609th Engineers, 485th Military Police Company and the 150th Maintenance Company. Airmen of the 152nd Security Forces and 152nd Civil Engineer squadrons also activated.

During the second half of the year, nationwide activations spiked for not just Nevada, but National Guard units around the country. Moments after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, the entire Texas National Guard was put on alert. Several states around the country were called. The Nevada Guard supported those hurricane response efforts while also activating for firefighting operations.

• Nevada Army aviation assets fought various fires around the American West during the summer, including Black Hawk water drops on the Brenda Fire and Preacher Fire in Nevada, along with the Long Valley Fire in California. UH-72 Lakotas supported medical response missions in Oregon. The 152nd Airlift Wing’s fire department also activated for multiple fires in the region.

• The 152nd Airlift Wing conducted its first Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System mission in support of the U.S. Forest Service for fires in northern California in July. The 152nd Airlift Wing was named the newest MAFFS unit in 2016, which includes three National Guard units and one U.S. Air Force Reserve unit. “It’s great to have our tail (flash) out there,” Col. Anthony Machabee, 152nd Operations Group Commander, said in July. “Our crews, maintenance, the pilots, loadmasters, engineers — it’s kind of surreal. The 152nd is in the business of fighting fires.”

• A Nevada Army Guard CH-47 Chinook crew left Aug. 30 for Houston where it flew resupply missions: food, water, hygiene items, baby products, cots, blankets and other items. The aviators also moved bales of hay for stranded cattle. “All around there was a lot of flood waters, people getting pushed out of their houses. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was unbelievable to see,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Dewhurst, pilot in command for Nevada aviation’s Hurricane Harvey response. The 152nd Airlift Wing also supported Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma response with one C-130 H aircraft.

• A month after Hurricane Harvey, a second massive hurricane pounded U.S. coastal areas: Hurricane Irma. Eight Nevada Airmen assigned to the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability, or JISCC, team of the 152nd Airlift Wing deployed to Florida on Sept. 10 to provide critical communications in the wake of Hurricane Irma. After receiving JISCC equipment in 2015, it was the first time the unit activated for natural disaster response with the JISCC. But it wasn’t the only activation for the Nevada Air Guard JISCC team.

• A month after Hurricane Irma made landfall, the JISCC airmen responded to the fire ravaged region in northern California’s Sonoma County. They provided communications for the medical and support elements stationed at the Elsie Allen High School shelter in Santa Rosa, California. Hundreds of patients were evacuated there from local care facilities because of the fires. “Most of the people here have been evacuated from elderly care facilities,” Capt. Greg Green, 152nd Communications Flight commander, said in October. “About a quarter of them aren’t patients, but are people who lost their homes in the fire.”

• Nevada Army National Guard’s aviation units activated one UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and one CH-47 Chinook for northern California firefighting operations, flying in and out of Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento.

• Another hurricane, Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm, brought wind gusts exceeding 160 mph through Dominica, devastating the island of Puerto Rico. The National Guard response for Hurricane Maria was massive. The Nevada Army National Guard JISCC team activated for Aguadilla, Puerto Rico in late September, originally for 30 days, but that was extended with a new rotation of additional Nevada Army Guardsmen. “Some of the people here (in Puerto Rico) had no contact with family for weeks and thanks to the communication support from the JISCC, they were able to reconnect with their families and let them know they are OK,” said Sgt. 1st Class Travis Martinelli, a member of the Nevada Army Guard’s JISCC team.

• The 152 Airlift Wing’s aerial port provided logistical operations for sustained air movement of personnel and materials at San Juan Airport after Hurricane Maria blew through the U.S. territory. Among those planes moving materials were four 152nd Airlift Wing C-130 H aircraft. Overall for the three hurricanes, 152nd aircrew flew 90 sorties, 329 flight hours and moved 137 cargo tons. “It’s made for very long days, but an amazing feeling being able to help those who have had their entire world turned upside down,” said Lt. Col. Evan Kirkwood, a 152nd Airlift Wing pilot. Additionally, more than a dozen 152nd Security Forces Squadron Airmen provided law enforcement assistance in Puerto Rico for one month. They returned to Nevada on Monday.

• The annual security event set for later this month for the Las Vegas New Year’s Eve celebration, now called Operation Silver Phalanx, saw a massive expansion this year. Following the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history — a gunman posted on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay killed 58 people at a country music concert — the Nevada Division of Emergency Management expanded its funding request from $120,000 to $340,000 for its New Year’s Eve celebration. That more than doubled the Guard’s presence from the prior year with nearly 350 Guardsmen at 22 locations in Las Vegas.

Coincidentally, the Nevada Guard’s historic year of domestic response occurred simultaneously with the end of an high, up-tempo deployment cycle. Since 9/11, the Nevada Guard experienced continuous deployments. From 2015-2017, about one-sixth of the Nevada Army Guard deployed overseas. In July of 2017, the Nevada Army Guard’s 485th Military Police Company returned from the Middle East, which marked a rare moment when all Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers were stateside. But even with all the units home, an unprecedented request for domestic activations in response to natural disasters around the nation continued to keep the Soldiers and Airmen of the Silver State busy.