War, What is it Good For?

 

The Oregon National guard owns six CH-47 Chinook helicopters which are ideally suited for fighting wildfires.  On the National Guard website they have an article about their firefighting training and equipment where they state "The ORNG (Oregon National Guard) has HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and the newer F-Model CH-47 Chinook helicopters to support the ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry)"  (emphasis mine).  Staff Sgt. Tyler Meister also said that due to Covid-19 "Oregon will have to utilize all available state assets this year, including the National Guard, to ensure we can successfully fight the wildfires this season."

But as over a million acres are burning in Oregon, more than 40,000 people evacuated from their homes, 5 Oregonians are dead with dozens more missing (27 in the Santiam area alone), and we have the worst air quality in the world... these helicopters are not helping the firefighting effort.  Why not?  They're over in Afghanistan moving soldiers and equipment.  

The Chinook helicopters have an enormous carrying capacity and large buckets to carry water.  They can carry 18,000 pounds of water at nearly 200 mph.  The six Chinook helicopters are deployed in Afghanistan leaving four Black Hawk helicopters to help fight the wildfires here.  While the Black Hawk helicopters are faster, they are much smaller and can only carry 2,600 pounds of water.  

It's unbelievable to me that the state purchased these helicopters for use in conjunction with the Department of Forestry for wildfire management and then sent them overseas to fight a war in MAY.  Just before wildfire season started.  And now we have these huge fires that are for the most part, ZERO percent contained (some of the smaller fires are up to 15% contained).  At least 10% of the state's population lives in some level of an evacuation zone (Ready, Set, or Go).  

And that list of cities with the worst air pollution...  I bet they didn't even consider Salem or Eugene which are at least as close to the wildfires, let alone Lyons or Mill City which were consumed by the fires.  We are conducting an "experiment" on the long term effects of exposing millions of people to air quality beyond what the EPA deems to be Hazardous levels.  And with the fires being uncontained, who knows when the air quality will be getting better.  We can only hope that the 50% chance of rain predicted for late next is quite the downpour to dowse the flames and prevent the spread.