A Montana Army National Guard aircrew returned home this week after deploying to Washington state to support wildfire suppression efforts, capping a mission that took them into some of the most active fire conditions in the region this season.
"It feels good, feels really good to be home," said Sgt. Zac Hodgskiss, who served as a flight engineer on the mission. The crew worked alongside Washington National Guard personnel and civilian firefighting teams, flying suppression operations over active fire lines.
Montana Guard units have a long history of mutual aid deployments to neighboring states during high fire seasons, and this summer was no exception — with drought conditions and heat pushing fire danger across the Pacific Northwest. The Helena-based Guard presence in these deployments is a regular feature of late summer in Montana, with crews often returning just as the state's own fire season reaches its peak.
No injuries to Montana crew members were reported. The Guard has not released the total number of flight hours logged or the specific fires the crew supported, but the mission reflects the ongoing demand for aerial firefighting assets across the western United States.