Military engages fire from up above

Army Guard, HFD and Marine helicopters help battle wild blazes

Since Tuesday, Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters have made 237 airdrops, dumping nearly 474,000 gallons of water on wildfires near Waialua and Kaena Point.

The two Chinooks are each equipped with a collapsible bright orange bucket that can carry 2,000 gallons or 17,000 pounds of water. The buckets are on an 80-foot tether.

Col. Steve Logan, state Army aviation officer, said the operation has used two upgraded CH-47 helicopters and 23 Hawaii Army National Guard aviators, crew chiefs and support personnel from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment.

Use of the two Hawaii Army National Guard helicopters was requested Tuesday morning, Logan said, after officials realized how big the wildfires had become.

"We had been preparing since Sunday when the fires first broke out," Logan said. "Until yesterday (Tuesday) we had been ready to respond to both the hurricane and the fires. Now we are just focused on this."

Other aircraft in the firefighting included the two Honolulu Fire Department helicopters, two Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallions and several smaller commercial helicopters.

Yesterday, reporters and photographers were allowed to accompany the National Guard crews as they flew missions to douse hot spots at Kaena Point and on the east side of Mount Kaala at the 2,000-foot level.

Maj. Joseph Laurel said because the water loads of the other helicopters are far smaller than those for the National Guard aircraft, they are used to attack specific areas.

"We can cover a wider area," he added. All of the helicopters are under control of the Honolulu Fire Department.

Laurel said the flames on Tuesday were as high as 100 feet at times.

On the North Shore starting from Kaukonahua Road, the area running up steep ravines and gullies of the Waianae Mountain Range is now a patchwork of black scorched earth, green shrubbery and smoldering underbrush.

The pilots were helped by flight engineers Sgts. Mark Mabuti, Shane Townes and Brandon Adriano and Sgt. 1st Class Tigilau Vaoifi. Mabuti was assigned to the left side of the helicopter, and Townes was on the other side. Adriano was assigned to "the hole," the open hatch on the floor of the Chinook from which the fire bucket was suspended.

Both Mabuti and Townes, looking out of the helicopter, would direct the pilots to a hot spot. Then Townes would signal Adriano to drop the cargo of 2,000 gallons of water from about 20 feet.

During yesterday's three-hour mission, the Chinook made 20 drops at Kaena Point, drawing water from the ocean. Then the crew flew to the east side of Mount Kaala and made an additional 15 trips picking up water from a reservoir four miles southwest of Waialua High School.