Wildfire season has now started for this year in Western Montana. So far there have been only a few small fires near here, but it’s just a matter of time before a big one comes along because the forest is extremely dry. Our skies already contain a lot of smoke from the large fires in Idaho.
This big helicopter with a 750 gallon water bucket is flying out of our local DNRC headquarters today , I think to a small fire about 10 air miles to the southeast, and a smaller one was trailing its bucket this morning headed in a north-westerly direction.
For those who are not familiar with this fire fighting resource, these big buckets are carried below the aircraft suspended on a cable. They can fill the bucket from a river or lake or sometimes set up a reservoir for them that is kept supplied by tanker truck. They will fly many trips a day, each time releasing the water or slurry over one of the hot spots of the fire. They are surprisingly effective.
Montana Outdoors 