242 trapped by wildfire; pilots flew into flames to save them

It’s been six years since the Creek Fire rescue changed nighttime firefighting forever, after California National Guard crews flew into a wall of fire and smoke in the largest helicopter rescue in Guard history and saved all of them in seven hours. A new mini-documentary shared by Governor Gavin’s office recounts the extraordinary nighttime mission that rescued 242 people.The extraordinary nighttime rescueIt started on September 4, 2020, in the Sierra National Forest and burned with the kind of speed that leaves no time for evacuation protocols. By Labor Day weekend, hundreds of people were fleeing for their lives as flames surrounded Mammoth Pool Reservoir. The smoke was so thick that civilian pilots couldn’t risk flying. As evening fell, the options began to narrow. The people were still there, and the fire showed no signs of calming down. Hundreds of people were stranded. Leaving fate to decide the lives of 242 people wasn’t an option the California National Guard (CalGuard) aircrews were considering. So the CalGuard crew from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade decided to fly into the fire after dark. Their only edge? Night-vision goggles.CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk crews s...