US government sends helicopters to Hawaii

This includes two UH-60 Black Hawks and one CH-47 Chinook from the Army's 25th Combat Aviation Brigade to assist with firefighting efforts, as well as two MH-60R Seahawks from Navy Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37, which will support the US Coast Guard with search and recovery operations.

Two Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopters have also been sent to support wildfire response and search and rescue (SAR) teams in Hawaii.

These aircraft will be dispatched alongside 134 National Guard personnel, who will provide support local firefighters on the ground. The US Coast Guard ships USCGC Kimball and USCGC Joseph Gerczak

The response was announced at a press briefing on 10 August held by Pentagon Press Secretary, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder. Ryder also applauded the work of US Coast Guard crews who rescued 14 survivors who had taken shelter from the fire and smoke in the ocean during the crisis, using an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a response boat.

Ryder offered the Department of Defense’s ‘deepest condolences and our empathy to the people of Maui … who have lost loved ones and family members, along with those who have been affected by the tragic wildfires there’.

He added the department would ‘continue to work with the state of Hawaii and officials there, as we work together to protect lives and battle these terrible wildfires’.

The wildfires in Hawaii, which are centered on the island of Maui, has so far claimed the lives of 55 people as of 11 August.

Air ambulance provider Air Methods closed its Hawaiian air ambulance service LifeSave KuPono late last year.