By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard, based at Moffett Federal Airfield, saved five people Jan. 2-4 during the flooding in Northern California.
The first rescue happened Jan. 2, when an HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter was called to pick up an elderly couple trapped by flood waters near Wilton.
The crew found the couple outside their trailer, which was completely surrounded by water, said Maj. Ed Lewis, the aircraft commander.
"Due to trees and power lines in the area, we had to hoist the couple 140 feet into the helicopter. When the couple finally arrived onboard the helicopter after their hoist, the 64-year-old woman was grinning from ear to ear," Lewis said.
The rescue was the first for 1st Lt. Mike Dolly, the HH-60 co-pilot, who was christened with a dousing of champagne after the flight.
The second rescue took place Jan. 3, when an HH-60 on alert at Mather Airfield in Sacramento was called to rescue two men trapped on the roof of a house completely surrounded by water near Marysville. Maj. Joe Higgins piloted his aircraft into position, and the two were hoisted aboard.
A third save occurred Jan. 4 when an HH-60 piloted by Lt. Col. Tom Laut diverted on its way back to Moffett from Mather to rescue a farmer, who had spent three days without food on his combine tractor to stay out of the flood waters near Interstate 5 just southwest of Sacramento.
There were no paramedics aboard the helicopter at the time the call came in, so Laut picked up a local firefighter and an Army National Guard medic to assist in the pickup. This victim also had to be hoisted 50 feet into the hovering helicopter because of the depth of the water surrounding the tractor.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 15, 1997.
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