Aerospace News — Utah National Guard aviation units are putting their specialized helicopter capabilities to work supporting wildfire response efforts across the state, as crews from the 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion fly UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters over the Rocky Canyon Fire in Morgan County to help slow its advance.
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| A Utah National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk collects water in a bucket from Joe’s Valley Reservoir. Credit – Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Aylstock |
Black Hawk – From Training to Real-World Response
The battalion's involvement began Aug. 5, when it was first activated to support the Black Canyon Fire in Sanpete County. After several days, the mission shifted to the Rocky Canyon Fire, where two Black Hawks and their aircrews continue conducting water bucket drops.
Lt. Col. Penny McCarthy, the battalion's commander, explained that when local authorities need assistance, the Guard is activated through the state's Department of Emergency Management and governor's office, allowing crews to move quickly from standby status into active firefighting support.
Grueling Days in the Air
For the pilots involved, the mission demands long, physically taxing shifts. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Aylstock, one of the pilots supporting operations in Morgan County, described a routine built around back-to-back fuel cycles — flying out, refueling, launching onto the fire, completing a full cycle, returning to base, grabbing a quick meal, and heading back out again.
Shifts run roughly 12 hours, with pilots sometimes logging seven to eight hours of actual flight time in a single day. To maintain continuity, the unit rotates at least five pilots through overlapping shifts each day, ensuring incoming crews stay up to speed on the fire's status and the operation's progress.
Behind the Scenes: Maintenance and Coordination
Keeping the aircraft mission-ready requires a coordinated effort well beyond the cockpit. Maintenance crews based in West Jordan work extended hours to prepare each Black Hawk for daily launch, while aircrews receive updated maps, radio frequencies, and fire information each morning before heading to their staging location.
Using 530-gallon buckets, the helicopters carry out direct attacks on the fire, support backburn operations, pretreat vegetation with water, and assist with structure protection — all while coordinating closely with fixed-wing air tankers and ground crews sharing the same airspace. When tankers move into the area, helicopter crews are sometimes required to hold their position until the airspace clears.
Built on Months of Preparation
This kind of rapid-response capability doesn't happen by accident. McCarthy explained that the battalion trains and prepares for wildfire response well before the state's fire season officially begins each April, working closely with partners including the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service to stay coordinated ahead of peak fire activity.
Much of the unit's routine flight training closely mirrors the demands of actual firefighting missions, and pilots assigned to fire response duty typically bring significant flight experience, with the unit deliberately rotating veteran aviators through the mission to build depth across the battalion.
A Personal Mission for Many Soldiers
For the soldiers involved, the mission carries a personal dimension that extends beyond standard duty. McCarthy noted that some members of the battalion live in, or have family in, communities directly affected by the fires they're fighting. She described the work as centered on preserving life, protecting property, and easing human suffering — objectives she said feel especially meaningful when the communities at risk are the crews' own neighbors.
As wildfire conditions across Utah continue to evolve, the Utah National Guard's aviation units remain on standby, ready to adjust operations and continue supporting civilian firefighting agencies whenever called upon.