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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 11, 2008 No. 08-077 KANSAS GUARDSMEN TO HELP BATTLE CALIFORNIA BLAZES Fifteen soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation, Kansas National
Guard, will deploy to California to help local authorities combat wildfires.
They will deploy on Saturday, July 12, from the Army Aviation Support
Facility in Salina to an airfield southwest of Sacramento, Calif. The Guardsmen will fly two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with
660 gallon "Bambi" buckets that can scoop water from local water
sources and dump them on the flames. "California has had an extremely difficult year and we're pleased
we can help them in this challenging time," said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting,
the director of Kansas Division of Emergency Management and adjutant general. The Guardsmen and helicopters are deploying to California under the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact, a multistate agreement that facilitates
sending aid between states during major disasters. EMAC status gives legal protection to officially deployed workers who
may be injured while on assignment. The agreement also addresses issues
such as state-to-state reimbursement for other costs associated with response
and recovery measures. Kansas has given assistance to other states before under the EMAC agreement. In 2000, assistance was given to Montana to combat forest fires and also to Oklahoma to battle range fires. Following 9/11, Kansas personnel were sent to New York to assist with donations management. Kansans were also deployed to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005. Most recently, emergency management personnel went to Iowa to assist with flood recovery. -30- |
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