(PHOTOS BY OLIVER HAMLIN FOR WSB)

11:27 AM: As previewed last week, the city is partnering with the Washington National Guard today and tomorrow for a disaster drill involving a helicopter. We’re at the Joint Training Facility in southeast West Seattle to find out more; the helicopter they’re using flew eastbound over West Seattle around 9:45 am, headed this way, and now it’s just taken off for practice hoisting from and to a building on the west edge of the JTF. They’ll be focusing the drill here unless there’s a problem and they need to fly elsewhere. More photos and info later!

11:45 AM: Today’s drill was very brief due to a hoist problem. The helicopter had to land after a few minutes. Everybody’s OK. They plan to try again tomorrow – with a different helicopter.

6:30 PM: Adding photos from what did happen while we were there, and what we learned.

The collaboration between the Washington National Guard – out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma – is relatively new. SFD has been training with King County and Snohomish County air-support units for years. The department has an eight-person Aviation Team from all over the city (we talked with Capt. Michael Dulas, who is from Station 18 in Ballard). He says the team members have to go through this kind of drill/training four times a year, because what they practice are “very perishable skills.”

We asked how they’d be deployed in case of an actual catastrophe. Not surprisingly, the reply was that it depends on circumstances – they could report to JBLM and board a helicopter there, or wait for one at one of the fields around the city where it’s been determined a helicopter could safely land. (We learned about at least two in West Seattle in 2020, when drills were done in case airlifts were needed during the bridge closure.)

We did learn some interesting stats in the briefing before the short-lived flight – the hoist is capable of lifting up to 600 pounds; the helicopter’s door can be opened in wind up to 80 knots. Meantime, we’ll be back at the JTF tomorrow to see how it goes.