California Army National Guard pilots Chief Warrant

California Army National Guard pilots Chief Warrant 2 Dan Lowry and Scott Englebrick, both from Alpha Company, 3-140th Aviation Battalion, out of Stockton, flew their LUH-72 Lakota helicopter to recon the Day Fire near Fall River Mills, northeast of Mount Shasta, Aug. 2, 2014, in response to the CNG being called up to the mounting wildfires in the northern part of the state. This is the first major fire involvement for the year. Onboard were Cal Fire managers Mike Deacon, who is assigned to the Nevada, Yuba and Placer counties, and Bob Innes, who is assigned to the Riverside county. En route to the helibase at the Fall River airport they shot up the valley and passed the Bald Fire where the air became thick with smoke and the sky turned an orange tint. After switching passengers they circled the Day Fire helping Cal Fire spot flare ups, hand crews, fire lines, wind movement and how best to tackle the blaze. They returned to base and then transported another fire manager to Redding before traveling back to Stockton. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Paul Wade)