Silver State Times

Two Nevada National Guard helicopters are fighting the Caldor Fire in California, which has been raging for over three weeks.

The Nevadan Guardsmen join 24 other Black Hawk helicopters that are working to contain the fire by dropping 2,000 gallons of water from buckets attached to the aircraft. The pilots fill the buckets from local water sources before flying into the smoke to get to the designated drop location.

"Five Black Hawks from National Guard units in Nevada, Oregon and California depart to assist firefighting efforts over #CaldorFire," the Nevada Guard tweeted Aug. 29.

The Caldor Fire currently covers over 200,000 acres, primarily affecting El Dorado and Amador Counties, according to Cal Fire. The fire has been burning since Aug. 14 and 65% contained as of Sept. 22, according to Wikipedia. It has destroyed over 900 buildings and injured two civilians as well as three firefighters, according KTVU.

“Sometimes fighting fires can be more dangerous than combat operations,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steve Nielsen, KOLOTV reported, referencing the high temperatures and low visibility.

There are over 4,400 soldiers and airmen in the Nevada Guard. The National Guard cannot self-deploy, MyNews4 reported. Instead, the Guard must wait to be deployed by either a state governor or the president.