SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — The Big Grass Fire has burned more than a half-million acres in Idaho and Oregon and is still not fully contained. At the height of the fire, the Idaho National Guard was called in to help battle the blaze from the air.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kyle Pearl was one of the pilots dropping buckets of water on the fire.
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“It is unique in the way that they use us, but it’s something that we train for,” Pearl said.
Pearl said the firefighting effort involved close coordination between crews on the ground, aircraft in the air and the team inside the Black Hawk helicopter.
WATCH: Learn how the bucket system works that crews use to drop water from helicopters
“I think we were two of maybe 15 aircraft that was in the airspace,” Pearl said. “The crew chief will be sitting on the floor and they will be tethered to one of these rings here with a strap so they have the best view of the fire itself."
Once the helicopter flies over the fire, the pilots can't actually see the bucket or the drop area below them — that responsibility falls to the crew member in the back of the aircraft.
“So the pilots put a lot of trust in us in the back. Even though we’re not physically flying the aircraft, we still hold a lot of responsibility,” Staff Sgt. Bradley Stock said.
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Stock operates the bucket system while hanging out the side of the helicopter during fire operations.
“We have the bucket that we dip down into the water and then we have the long line that attaches to it that goes all the way up and this is what attaches, this clevis right here is what attaches to the bottom of the air frame,” Stock said.
Crews averaged about 30 to 40 water drops over roughly 2.5 hours of fuel, helping protect communities like Jordan Valley.
“It makes you feel really good, it’s very worthwhile. You walk away from the aircraft — they’re long hard days, but it makes you feel like you accomplished something and you did something for your state and your community,” Pearl added.
The Idaho National Guard also uses the same Black Hawk helicopters for search-and-rescue operations across the state.
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