With temperatures at a record-setting high this year, it was only a matter of time until wildfires started to blaze over large portions of Central Washington.

Thankfully, the Washington National Guard currently has forces on the ground and in the air to help the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WaDNR). And in the coming days, active-duty troops from Joint Base Lewis-McChord will lend a hand and shovel as well.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk crews containing servicemembers from the 66th Theater Aviation Command (TAC) are providing aerial assistance to WaDNR resources battling the Cougar Creek fire near Mount Adams.

Crews have dropped more than 100 buckets of water on the Cougar Creek fire.

A UH-60 Blackhawk and more than 160 servicemembers from the 81st Brigade Combat Team are providing ground firefighting support to the WaDNR battling the Chelan Complex Fire.

With the many wildfires of last year still fresh in our minds, the Washington National Guard and Governor Inslee took measures to help expedite the assistance efforts and resources during the 2015 summer season.

"Servicemembers from the Washington National Guard received their Red Card Certification earlier this year," said Washington National Guard State Public Affairs Officer, CPT Joe Siemandel.  

A new program that joined WaDNR and Washington National Guard servicemembers took place earlier this year where about 100 servicemembers learned firefighting techniques during their annual training in Yakima.

"The training was highly beneficial to the Guard's response," said CPT Siemandel.  "The familiarity and team chemistry built during the Red Card Training was invaluable."

In a JBLM press release sent Tuesday, officials wrote that soldiers from the 17th Field Artillery Brigade will mobilize to serve as firefighters to assist the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).  This is the first time since 2006 that active-duty military personnel have been mobilized to serve as firefighters and assist with wildfire suppression efforts.

The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at NIFC requested the Department of Defense (DoD) provide 200 active-duty military personnel to assist with firefighting efforts. The DoD has approved the request and identified the 17th Field Artillery Brigade to provide the active-duty military personnel. The soldiers will be organized into 10 crews of 20 persons each, all of which will be sent to the same wildfire.

The JBLM soldiers will be deployed to eastern Washington to support the North Star Fire Complex, which is north of Republic, Washington.

Along with the increased number of Red Card Certified servicemembers, Governor Inslee proclaimed that a State of Emergency exists in all of Washington's 39 counties back on the 26th of June.