The Pentagon introduced that it has despatched a variety of troops and army helicopters to Hawaii to help in rescue-and-recovery efforts within the wake of devastating wildfires that swept via the island of Maui.
“As of this morning, the Nationwide Guard has activated 134 Nationwide Guard personnel — 99 from the Army Nationwide Guard and 35 from the Air Nationwide Guard — to help with a large wildfire response,” the Pentagon’s high spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, informed reporters at a briefing Thursday.
Ryder additionally stated that the Army and Navy have each despatched a number of helicopters to the island to assist with firefighting, in addition to search-and-recovery efforts.
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The information comes similtaneously the U.S. Coast Guard introduced that the crew of a 45-foot response boat medium crew rescued 14 survivors from the Lahaina Harbor breakwall Tuesday night. The survivors had jumped into the water to take shelter from hearth and smoke in Lahaina, Maui.
Along with the response boat, the Coast Guard stated that the Cutters Kimball and Joseph Gerczak are on the scene to assist.
The Related Press has reported that the wildfires on the favored Hawaiian island — fueled by robust winds from a passing hurricane — have claimed 36 lives. They’ve additionally broken no less than 270 constructions.
The fires at the moment are the deadliest wildfire incident because the 2018 Camp Hearth in California that killed no less than 85 individuals and one of many deadliest in U.S. historical past.
President Joe Biden declared the wildfires a “main catastrophe” on Tuesday as nicely.
Ryder stated that the activated Nationwide Guardsmen are providing liaison assist to the Hawaii Emergency Administration Company and supporting native regulation enforcement.
In the meantime, the CH-47 Chinook helicopters — two from the Hawaii Army Nationwide Guard and one from the Army’s twenty fifth Fight Aviation Brigade — are serving to with firefighting operations.
Hawaii’s Nationwide Guard stated its two Chinooks carried out 58 whole bucket drops in 5 hours, totaling greater than 100,000 gallons of water dropped on the fires.
The Fight Aviation Brigade additionally deployed two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, in response to the Pentagon.
In an announcement, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated the Navy’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 despatched two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to assist the Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews with search-and-recovery operations as nicely.
“The division will proceed to work intently with the state of Hawaii and officers there as we work collectively to guard lives and battle these horrible wildfires,” Ryder stated.
— Konstantin Toropin might be reached at konstantin.toropin@army.com. Observe him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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