Approximately 110 Hawaii National Guard members were mobilized Aug. 9 to assist with search and recovery efforts after several wildfires swept through the island of Maui. The Lahaina fire was the most devastating and destructive of three large wildfires which erupted on the island Tuesday causing nearly 100 fatalities, with those numbers expected to rise. The Hawaii National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) team is trained to respond to CBRNE incidents in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX within six hours of formal alert in order to assist local, state and federal agencies in conducting consequence management by providing capabilities to conduct casualty decontamination, medical triage and treatment, casualty search and extraction and fatality search and recovery in order to save lives and mitigate human suffering. (U.S. Air National Guard video by Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson, edited by Master Sgt. Amber Monio)
