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.)