Colo. Army National Guard helicopter on standby for Fern Lake fire rescue operations

By Colorado National Guard Public Affairs

FILE PHOTO: A Colorado Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter hovers above as Staff Sgt. Eric Williams, a flight medic, is hoisted to a rescue site atop Mount Bancroft, in the Indian Peaks mountain range, in Clear Creek County, Colo. Sept. 7, 2012. (Photo by Adam Pérou Hermans/Used with permission)

Click here or on the photo for a high-resolution image.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012

CONTACT:
Air National Guard Capt. Darin Overstreet
720-250-1053

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (12/5/12) – Upon request of the Colorado Office of Emergency Management, a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter and crew are currently on standby to perform rescue operations if needed in response to the Fern Lake fire.

A UH-60 Black Hawk outfitted with a hoist, and its crew of four Soldiers, including a medic, are prepared to provide these capabilities if called upon by the incident management team currently fighting the fire burning in Rocky Mountain National Park, west of Estes Park, Colo.

The helicopter and crew is on standby from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., until further notice.

The Colorado National Guard is supporting the Colorado Office of Emergency Management and the incident management team in emergency response authority.

For fire and evacuation inquiries, media should call 970-577-3718.

The information line for the public is 970-577-3716.

Updates regarding this fire will be posted to http://inciweb.org/incident/3294.

Information will be posted to Twitter from Inciweb or http://twitter.com/inciweb.

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12/5/2012