blizzards also created the need for national guard support. often both army national guard and air national guard units assisted with health and welfare matters, conducted debris removal and power generation, and provided supply and transportation support in connection with snowstorms. for example, a christmas-time 2006 blizzard at the airport hub of denver international airport closed that facility down for two days. army and air national guardsmen took food and water to thousands of travelers trapped there. in the same storm, western kansas received between 15 and 36 inches of snow with drifts as high as 13 feet. the air national guard not only assisted people, but also dropped bales of hay to feed stranded cattle.