Over the last couple of weekends both the regular Army from Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, and the Army National Guard from Buckley Air Force Base have been performing their annual ‘Bambi-Bucket’ fire-fighting training at three of the Front Range public reservoirs. Paul Filmer was there for GAR.
CH-47F – © Paul Filmer – www.globalaviationresource.com
Unlike in previous years’ training exercises, there were also National Forest Service fire-fighters on the ground to direct the crews on where to drop, just as would happen when the aircraft are called upon to respond to a real wildfire.
National Forest Service Firefighters – © Paul Filmer – www.globalaviationresource.com
The activities were performed by both CH-47F and UH-60 helicopters fitted with Bambi-Buckets, and the training also included UH-72s which are utilised as observation platforms.
UH-60 © Paul Filmer – www.globalaviationresource.com
The Army was used to assist with many wildfire operations last year, and this vital training serves to hone the skills of the of the crews for the upcoming season.
