Officials say that fire training is paramount, especially given the severity of our recent fire seasons.

Surrounded by the burn scars of the Tamarack fire in Alpine County, crews are practicing for the next fire season, hoping that it won’t be as severe.

“Unlike last year, we expect to be busy on both sides of Nevada...up in the timber and out in the flats," said Brett Taylor, Helitack Supervisor for the Nevada Division of Forestry.

Fighting fires is a joint effort, and that's why the Nevada National Guard Aviation Soldiers as well as Nevada Division of Forestry Firefighters are joining forces for fire season 2022.

“Communications is very important, not only are you talking to other aircraft in the air, you are talking to other ground crews so they can guide you in the fire, get you to where you needed to be,” said Command Chief Warrant Officer Steve Nielsen with the Nevada Army National Guard.

Without the constant communication and teamwork they build in training sessions like this one, things can go wrong very fast.

“With the Chinook, it's excess of 2 thousand gallons of water. At 8lbs a gallon that 16 thousand pounds on your head if you mess up and they drop it on you,” said Taylor.

"I would equate fighting fires as very intense, almost similar to flying in combat. It's a very stressful situation. Yes, nobody's shooting at you, but it is very dangerous with all the other aircraft, the smoke, the radio communications,” said Nielsen.

NDF and Nevada Guard members have been performing these training events in Markleeville, CA for a decade now, but have also worked in tandem at fires like Dixie, Tamarack, and Caldor…

“The army was out with us, we had them for about a month for the Caldor fire," said Taylor.

During the Caldor fire the army responded to between 30 and 40 falls for service, something they say is all in a day’s work for the guard.

“Our primary mission in the military is to go to fight wars. Our secondary mission as the National Guard is to support domestic operations," said Nielsen.

At today’s exercises, Nevada Army Guard Aviation Soldiers were able to discuss firefighting tactics as well as lessons learned and experiences from past wildland fires. The Nevada Army Guard practiced water bucket drops from two types of rotary-wing aircraft, including UH-60L Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks.