Civil Air Patrol’s Washington Wing is now in the fourth week of its response to fast-spreading wildfires in central and eastern Washington.
Starting on Aug. 4 at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Civil Air Patrol (CAP) aircraft and personnel quickly arrived in the impacted areas. Since the mission began, more than 120 CAP volunteers have answered the call and responded to help conduct disaster assessments.
This photo taken by a Civil Air Patrol Washington Wing ground team shows infrastructure damage in the Kaiser Canyon area of the state.
On the Ground, and in the Air
Atmospheric conditions initially kept aircraft participation low. Ground teams, however, were able to operate with vehicle-mounted high-resolution cameras along with small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) also equipped with these specialized mobile cameras. The ground and sUAS teams have completed more than 70 sorties and collected tens of thousands of images, which have been provided to assist FEMA in evaluating the damage wrought by the fires.
Thus far, fixed wing aircraft have completed over 70 flights from 43 sorties.
Capt. Carl Wiley, the Washington Wing's director of operations, discusses a mission with part of the CALFIRE incident management team supporting the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
Specialized Camera Systems in Use
This mission is one of the first uses of CAP’s newly purchased mobile camera systems. The high-resolution cameras usually are mounted on CAP’s powered aircraft.
Using these camera systems, the Washington Wing has completed most of its FEMA missions in the Kaiser Canyon area, and ground and sUAS teams were prepared to respond to other areas of the state as needed.
Throughout the mission outside influences have dictated which resources CAP put into use. Safety, visibility, flight restrictions, and accessibility issues often dictate which type of assets is placed into an area and on which day.
Col. Sid Wiggs, the Washington Wing commander, has been working at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) as a liaison officer during this response.
“While we are working primarily with FEMA Region 10, working in the SEOC allows us to see the entire team in action. It has been great to work with liaison officers from the Washington Military Department, FEMA, and a host of other state agencies.”
Wiggs also noted “the high level of professionalism and teamwork demonstrated in the SEOC.”
SUAS operators use a mobile camera to capture high-resolution images of the damage wrought by fires in Washington state.
Other CAP Members Involved Too
For over 20 days, CAP members from Washington, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada have come together to accomplish the mission. Many tasks are conducted behind the scenes in support of the overall mission, and every participant’s role contributes to the success of the disaster response.
Acting as a Total Force partner and the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, CAP helps First Air Force rapidly respond to nonmilitary threats domestically in a Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) capacity to save lives, relieve suffering, prevent property damage, and provide humanitarian assistance.
The Washington Wing was legislatively integrated into the Washington Military Department earlier this year. The wing has opened its facilities at Cam Boucher in Ephrata to continue CAP’s support to the state and the federal response to fires still burning across vast areas of the state.
Serve Your Community Through CAP
Civil Air Patrol offers opportunities for people who want to support emergency response and community resilience. Its volunteers serve in a variety of ways, including disaster assessment, aviation support, communications, logistics, and emergency operations planning.
Members come from a wide range of professional backgrounds, and no aviation experience is required. Those interested in community-focused service can learn more and connect with a local squadron by visiting gocivilairpatrol.com.
Through partnerships with FEMA and other agencies, CAP members continue to support disaster response efforts focused on saving lives, protecting property, and helping communities recover.
