300+ campers ensnared by fire. CAL FIRE tells them no hope of extraction, prepare to jump in the lake to survive.

Army pilots say they can help. CAL FIRE says too dangerous. Crews go anyway. 0 vis in smoke filled canyons. Overload helos w/ppl. Then they go back. Twice.

Heroes pic.twitter.com/1wB8uE55DI

— John Noonan (@noonanjo) September 10, 2020

I’ve seen army helo pilots do some amazing flying. I am not surprised at all. They practice difficult flying all the time in a way civilian pilots rarely get the chance to do, and many have seen actual combat. I used to love when I’d get to do a ridealong on helicopter missions in the army. So much fun.

When I was in, I also got to meet the very first woman Apache pilot. Wow, she was a cool lady. Glad I got to watch her fly.