Airmen aid Nevada flood relief effort

  • Published
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) --  Airmen here provided assistance to flood victims in southern Nevada on Jan 11.

Four Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from Nellis’ 66th Rescue Squadron flew to Caliente, Nev., to evacuate 118 students and 19 staff members from a youth center in Caliente to a school about 15 miles from the facility.

Before the evacuation, Nevada Air National Guardsmen flew 50,000 empty sandbags here on a C-130 Hercules.

Also, a C-130 crew, here for training from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., helped with the evacuation using a model of the aircraft equipped for aerial refueling.

State officials ordered the evacuation after flooding cut off ground access to the facility. Local civilian authorities asked Air Force officials for help.

"The (Airmen were) here within 40 minutes of receiving authorization to provide assistance," said Bryan Elkins, Caliente’s public information officer. "We're pleased that they and the Nevada Air National Guard are here."