Hueys To The Rescue!

Residents of Fernley awoke to a chilly surprise last Saturday... as nearly freezing water poured through their neighborhood and invaded their homes. Due to heavy rainfall, an irrigation canal suffered a ditch bank failure, and several hundred houses were caught in the path of the fast moving water, flooding many to a depth of several feet.

As part of an immediate response by military assets, US Navy helicopters rescued 18 people from the flooded area.

The earthen canal failed around 0430 on January 5, and the breach quickly eroded. The water flooded several subdivisions, with depths rising to eight feet in some areas. Homes in the immediate area were flooded with several feet of water, and most of the cars were completely submerged. By 0600, local emergency officials were calling for assistance, and NAS Fallon was quick to respond.

At 0645, the first of two HH-1N Huey helicopters was airborne and heading to the flooded area, 30 miles from the base. In command of the aircraft was Lt. Brent Hardgrave, a search and rescue (SAR) pilot with the Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon "Longhorns". Cmdr. Doug Russell, NAS Fallon executive officer was the second pilot, with two aviation warefare systems operators rounding out the crew.

"The real-world experience of helping people in peril, whether they are lost in the wilderness or caught in a flood, is not only good training, but what being a good neighbor is all about," said Russell, the SAR team leader.

Russell added that the SAR assets at NAS Fallon, when not assisting flood victims, are designated to provide assistance if a military aircraft goes down.

Upon arrival, the crew, under the direction of the civilian authorities, was immediately put to work. Many people were stranded by the rising waters, and evacuation efforts became the priority.

The helicopter crew made multiple trips between the victim's houses and a staging point where bus transportation was shuttling people to a temporary shelter set up in the local high school. Several families were able to climb into the aircraft from their flooded front lawns, a hover maneuver called a "one skid," while two folks were hoisted to safety from the roof of their car.

In addition to the HH-1N Huey support, NAS Fallon's Seabee detachment, Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303 provided 140,000 empty sandbags.

A second Huey was not needed in the flood zone, and instead provided communications support between the Navy and the civilian authorities.

Other Navy efforts to help included providing 140,000 empty sandbags from NAS Fallon's Seabee detachment, CBMU-303, and staging several Coast Guard C-130's that arrived to deliver FEMA-supplied Meals-Ready-to-Eat and bottled water.

(Aero-News thanks NAS Fallon Public Affairs for this report.)

FMI: www.navy.mil/local/nasfallon