Since the Louisiana National Guard began helping to fight the wildfires in west Louisiana, LANG aircraft have dropped more than 1 million gallons of water on the blazes.
Helicopter crews are continuing their mission of water-drop operations in Beauregard, Sabine and Vernon Parishes in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office and local agencies in fighting the wildfires in the region, a release states.
The helicopter crews have used "bambi buckets", which allow them to draw water from any open water source in extremely remote locations, then carry and drop the water onto fires. The versatility of the helicopter and bambi bucket combination allow crews to maximize the number of water drops performed during their on-station time.
The augmentation to the LANG aerial firefighting efforts, with support from the Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas National Guards, has resulted in a rotation of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and CH-47 Chinook helicopters that have provided over 385 flight hours of aid from the time LANG assets were activated in response to the wildfires.
The crews are keeping record statistics for Louisiana as they continue support efforts towards these relief efforts, the release states.
