Helitack crews are teams of

wildland firefighter Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s who are transported by

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s. Helicopters provide rapid transport, enabling helitack crews to quickly respond and assess a wildfire situation. Helitack crews may land near a wildfire or, if equipped and trained, rappel from a hovering helicopter. Once on the ground, crews build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws, and other firefighting tools. They often remain overnight in remote locations. After they have completed their assignment, crew members may pack up to 120 pounds of equipment over difficult terrain to reach a pick-up point. Rappellers often prepare helispots (helicopter landing zones) that provide better access to a fire. Helicopter crew members may also perform other duties such as tree falling, firing operations, and managing helibases.

Terminology

Helitack

The term ''helitack'' first appeared in a 1956 ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' article, which described the "first of a series of tests—tabbed the Helitack Program—on the use of helicopters in firefighting will start next week in the San Bernardino National Forest". The word itself is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words"Fire-Fighting Copter Tests Start in Forest", ''Los Angeles Times''
June 10, 1956, page A23, cited at the Double-Tongued Dictionary, accessed October 15, 2007

Helibase

The incident helibase is the location from which incident helicopter support missions are flown, and where the helicopters assigned to that base are parked, serviced, and refueled. Usually a helibase is in a field location that is close enough to the Incident Base Camp so that supplies and personnel can be ferried by ground to the helibase from the camp in a timely manner. More remote helibases (i.e., nearer the fire) can be established to maximize efficiency and reduce flight costs. Occasionally, helibases are located at a nearby airport or backcountry airstrip. The name of the base is designated by the name of the incident, though on large fires there can be multiple helibases. Helibases are staffed with a Helibase Manager, Deck Coordinator, Landing and Takeoff Coordinator, Aircraft Base Radio Operator, and numerous subsidiary positions operating in a Helibase Operations trailer or out on the landing pads. Crash rescue capability is usually assigned to the larger helibases. An "H" in a circle designates a helibase on an incident map.

Helispot

A helispot is an American term for a location near a fire where it is safe for helicopters to land and take off. At this designated location, a helispot manager and usually a few helitack crewmembers will be onsite to coordinate landings and take-offs as well as the manifesting, loading and unloading of equipment and personnel. Helispots are temporarily located as the incident grows and can be found on ridges, meadows, parking lots – in short, any clearing suitable and meeting rotor clearance and hazard (wires, trees, etc.) avoidance requirements. Helispots are found on the incident map by filled in circles with the letters H-# next to it, the # designating what number it is.NIMS 3.04 Helispots are approved by a pilot and a qualified helicopter manager before being used.

Drop point

A helicopter drop point, or drop point is similar to a helispot, but used for depositing, often via longline, and caching supplies. Helicopters and supply vehicles use the drop point to off-load supplies at the edge of an incident for the ground teams to come by and pick up. Drop points may be located all around the fire.

Wildland firefighter Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s will usually pick up sharpened tools, pumps and hoses, water, food, radio batteries, etc. at the drop points. On an incident map, the symbol for a drop point is a filled dot with the letters D-# next to them with the # designating which number is it.

Methodology

A helitack helicopter will launch with a crew on board, drop them in the vicinity of the fire (or "incident") where they will begin clearing a

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

with standard hand tools, while the helicopter can then support the team with water drops, either with a

Bambi bucket A helicopter bucket is a specialised bucket suspended on a cable carried by a helicopter to deliver water for aerial firefighting. Each bucket has a release valve on the bottom which is controlled by the helicopter crew. When the helicopter is i ...

or airframe-mounted water tanks, or ferry in additional personnel (e.g., hotshot crews). If the fire continues to grow beyond the initial attack phase, the mission of the helitack crew shifts to a support role, locating and operating at helispots and helibases, where the coordination of the support required for other firefighting helicopters.Gross, Gregory A. "Elite, mobile fire crew might soon be permanent here", ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', November 16, 2004, accessed October 15, 2007
In a situation where terrain or vegetation height make it impossible for a helicopter to land, helitack methodology can also employ rappellers,

rappelling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

from a helicopter as high as 250 feet above the ground or deplaning crews from a hovering helicopter (heli-jumping). When backfires, or "prescribed burns" are needed in remote areas, helitack helicopters can be used to start them, using a "helitorch", a

driptorch A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground. Description The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel ...

suspended on a cable under the helicopter, or by dropping plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) ignition devices. In the event that a firefighter on the ground is injured, the helitack helicopter is used to evacuate the victim to a medical facility.

History

Helicopters were used in combating wildfires in California as early as 1947 and their usefulness at moving personnel rapidly around a fire was quickly recognized. Initially, helicopters were just used for tactical and logistical support for ground crews."Helicopters: Multitasking aircraft", U.S. Department of Forestry
/ref> In 1957 the

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County ...

experimentally used a

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

to lay hoses using belly mounted trays.Smith, Barry D.: ''Fire Bombers in Action'', pages 51–71. Motorbooks International Publishers, 1995. The first water bucket was probably developed by Jim Grady of

Okanagan Helicopters CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company. CHC Helicopter maintains it global headquarters in Irving, Texas and operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries around the world. CHC's major international operating units are b ...

working with Henry Stevenson, who owned a machine shop in

Nelson, British Columbia Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of resto ...

. Development began in the mid-1950s and the "Monsoon Bucket" was operational in 1962. The bucket was a converted 45- imperial-gallon (205 L) drum with a trap door in the bottom that was actuated by the pilot in flight. In the early 1960s the California Division of Forestry (now known as CALFIRE) began water bucketing trials. Testing was also done on a 105-U.S.-gallon (400 L) water tank mounted on a

. US federal agencies, such as the

BLM BLM most commonly refers to: * Black Lives Matter, an international anti-racism movement and organization * Bureau of Land Management, a U.S. federal government agency BLM may also refer to: Organizations * BLM (law firm), United Kingdom and ...

and the

USFS The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

also began contracting commercial helicopter services to assist in fighting wildfires on lands they were responsible for in the early 1960s. The

California Department of Forestry The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsib ...

began experimenting with helitack as a doctrinal concept in 1960, when a crew of three firefighters was deployed on an Alouette III helicopter.

Crews

Crew sizes vary from base to base and agency to agency. Helitack crews are often considered to be elite members of the firefighting community, partly because of the experience levels required to qualify as a crew member. CDF Captain Jim Barthol, in an interview with the ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', used the analogy of runners in a race to compare helitack with other

handcrew Handcrews are diverse teams of career and temporary wildland firefighters. The crews typically consist of 18 to 20 firefighters but can also contain 4 to 6 and 8 to 10. These crews have the responsibilities of constructing firelines – strips of ...

s. He said that "ground-based hand crews are marathon runners, while helitack crews work more like sprinters. Other hand crews might spend three days or more fighting a fire, we might work three different incidents in one day. It doesn't necessarily make us better than those other guys. It just makes us different." Much of the helitack crews' training centers on helicopter safety, as the crews typically load and unload with the rotors turning, and sometimes in very rough terrain, where only the skid on one side can be touched down. The minimum recommended physical fitness standards for helitack-rappelers set by the

National Wildfire Coordinating Group The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) was formed in the United States as a result of the aftermath of a major wildfire season in 1970, including the Laguna Fire. The 1970 fire season underscored the need for a national set of training a ...

are: packout 85 pounds for 3 miles within 90 minutes, run 1-miles in 10:30 or less, 25 push-ups in 60 seconds, 45 sit-ups in 60 seconds, and 4 or more pull-ups.

Equipment

Helicopters used for helitack missions are usually

utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of fulfilling many different roles. Civil Many civilian helicopters are made for utility work such as agricultural aircraft. Many police and fire departments maintain and operate utili ...

s, selected for both their lifting capability as well as their large cabin size to accommodate the helitack crew. Some of the most common helicopter types are variants of the venerable

UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

, known in the civilian world as the

Bell 205 The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, incl ...

, especially upgraded variants such as the 205A++ and the 210. The twin-engine

Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in ...

is also popular. Other helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-58 are also used, and the S-70 Firehawk, a civilian version of the military's

UH-60 Blackhawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

, is now being operated by two agencies in the U.S. Smaller helicopters, such as the

Bell 206 JetRanger The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...

and AS350 Astar are sometimes used for precision water drops to protect specific structures, such as cabins or homes. Larger water dropping helicopters such as the

S-64 Skycrane The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter. It is the civil version of the United States Army's CH-54 Tarhe. It is currently produced as the S-64 Aircrane by Erickson Inc. Development Under Sikorsky Th ...

, which can hold as much as 3,000 gallons, rivaling fixed-wing airtankers, are increasingly being used. Only some of these larger rotorcraft have provisions for carrying ground crews, therefore may not always considered "helitack" aircraft in the true sense of the word. Some Type I rotorcraft, such as the Boeing 234, can carry up to 44 passengers in proper configuration. Water tanks are often permanently or semi-permanently mounted under the helicopter's belly, which can either be filled at a helispot via a hose from a fire engine, or with a "snorkel", a long hose with a water pump in its end that can suck water out of a lake or small tank set up by fire crews. The helitack crews use the same tools on the fire lines as other ground crews do, including chain saws, axes, shovels and a specialized, two-headed cutting tool known as a Pulaski.

US classification system

In the U.S., helitack helicopters are designated by "type", as defined by the ''Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide'', based on their capacities:''Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide'', March 2006, Chapter 6

Canadian classification system

Since

forest protection Forest protection is a branch of forestry which is concerned with the preservation or improvement of a forest and prevention and control of damage to forest by natural or man made causes like forest fires, plant pests, and adverse climatic condi ...

is a provincial responsibility in Canada each province has its own system for classifying helicopters for contract use, setting equipment standards and for employing them. A typical system is the one that was in use by

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

in 1996. The then-named ''Manitoba Department of Natural Resources'' established a stand-by system for all aircraft contracted for forest fire protection missions. This consisted of five levels of readiness, depending on the fire forecast and the time of day: * Red Alert: Crews are at the base with the aircraft serviced, fueled and ready for immediate dispatch. * Yellow Alert: Crews can be contacted and be at the base within fifteen minutes. The aircraft is fuelled. Minor aircraft servicing is permitted. The aircraft must be airborne within 30 minutes of receiving the dispatch call. * Blue 1: The crews can be contacted and the aircraft can be airborne within one hour of receiving a dispatch call. Routine servicing and maintenance of the aircraft are permitted. * Blue 2: The crews can be contacted and the aircraft airborne within two hours of receiving a dispatch call. Routine servicing and maintenance of the aircraft are permitted. * Green: Stand-down.Manitoba Department of Natural Resources, Operations Division, Fire Program: ''Pilot Briefing Handbook MG-2261 (rev 3.96)'', page 23. Government of Manitoba, 1996 At that time the Manitoba Department of Natural Resources classified contract helicopters in two classifications: * Medium Lift Helicopter * Light Lift Helicopter The province also sets equipment standards for these contract helicopters, which are similar to others used across Canada:

Medium-lift helicopter

* VHF-AM Radio Communication Transceiver (118–136

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

). * VHF-FM "hi band" radio able to operate on the Department of Natural Resources' assigned frequencies (160–165 MHz) with dual tone multi-frequency encoding capability. * Crew intercom with four headsets and air to ground communications capability on VHF-AM and FM from at least both front seat locations. * Cargo hook * Two 12-foot × 12-foot nets * Two lanyards * One barrel net. * 320- imperial-gallon (1,450 L) capacity collapsible water bucket with foam injection capability. * Skid landing gear with bear paws. * Portable refuelling pump. *

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

Manitoba Department of Natural Resources, Operations Division, Fire Program: ''Pilot Briefing Handbook MG-2261 (rev 3.96)'', page 33. Government of Manitoba, 1996

Light-lift helicopter

* VHF-AM Radio Communication Transceiver (118–136 MHz). * VHF-FM "hi band" radio able to operate on the Department of Natural Resources' assigned frequencies (160–165 MHz) with dual tone multi-frequency encoding capability. * Two head sets, intercom and air to ground communication. * Cargo hook * Two slings or cargo nets. * Water bucket with instant deployment system. * High skid gear with bear paws. * Electrical plug with related 50-

ampere The ampere (, ; symbol: A), often shortened to amp,SI supports only the use of symbols and deprecates the use of abbreviations for units. is the unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). One ampere is equal to elect ...

circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by an overcurrent or short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the risk ...

suitable for use with Heli-Torch. * Model MS-3102A-16 Cannon plug with related 10 ampere circuit breaker conveniently located for use with provincial Aga 750 infrared scanning equipment. *

Incidents

*July 6, 1994 - While fighting the

South Canyon Fire The South Canyon Fire was a 1994 wildfire that took the lives of 14 wildland firefighters on Storm King Mountain, near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on July 6, 1994. It is often also referred to as the "Storm King" fire. It was the subject of J ...

on Storm King Mountain, near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, two helitack firefighters and 12 other firefighters were killed as they tried to flee the fire after it "spotted" beyond the fireline and began to race up the steep, densely vegetated terrain towards them."Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado", U.S. Department of Agriculture
/ref> *September 13, 2004 – While fighting a fire in the

Stanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. National Forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest national forests. It was named after t ...

in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, seven members of a CDF helitack crew were engulfed in the flames when the wind shifted in their direction. The gust lasted for no more than 30 seconds, but one firefighter was killed and several of the survivors were critically burned.

Images

File:Day-fire-helitack-01.jpg,

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

hand crew and a

on the

Day Fire The Day Fire was a devastating wildfire that burned of land in the Topatopa Mountains, within the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, southern California. History The fire, which was the largest of the 2006 California wildfire season ...

. USFS photo by Jim Akerman File:S-58TC-GLOG.JPG, S-58T, callsign ''Helitack 169'', ready to head to a project fire,

Dryden, Ontario Dryden, originally known as New Prospect, is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a ...

1995 File:Bell205A-1andFireFighters03.JPG, ''Helitack 140'', a Bell 205A-1 and

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources The Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands ...

firefighters working on Fire 141 in 1995 File:Bell204CandFireFighters04.JPG, A

Bell 204B The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, in ...

, callsign ''Helitack 114'' and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters working on Fire 141 in 1995 File:Bar complex helibase.jpg, Example of a helibase, this one at

Weaverville, California Weaverville is a census-designated place and the county seat of Trinity County, California in the United States. Its population is 3,667 as of the 2020 census, up from 3,600 from the 2010 census. History Founded in 1850, Weaverville is a histori ...

, during the Bar Complex Fire. USFS Bell

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The A ...

nose is in the foreground File:Laco-s70-N160LA-040501-01.jpg, LA County Fire S-70A Firehawk File:Cdf-b205-N497DF-061027-02cr-16.jpg, CDF Bell 205 from the

Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter B ...

Helitack crew File:Kfd-205-N408KC-050428-26cr.jpg,

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

Bell 205A++ Super Huey dropping water File:Helicoptere bombardier d eau Italie.jpg, A

Eurocopter Ecureuil Eurocopter Écureuil may refer to one of three related helicopter designs, each of which was originally manufactured by Aérospatiale (later part of Eurocopter Group, now Airbus Helicopters). * Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil The Eurocopter AS ...

dips its

bucket A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical Cylinder (geometry), cylinder or Truncation (geometry), truncated Cone (geometry), cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom, attached to a semicircular carrying handle (grip), handle called ...

into a swimming pool before returning to drop the water on a wildfire outside

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

File:Bell407C-GZRN02.jpg, Helitack 63: A typical light helicopter used in fire fighting, this

Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa W ...

served with the

during the 2007 fire season File:Bar-complex sphere-dispenser.jpeg, Plastic sphere dispenser on a Bell 206L LongRanger, on the Bar Complex Fire File:Example Helitack drop.webm, A video of a

helicopter working with ground firefighters by dropping water from a bucket.

References

External links

Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide

Officer.com article on helicopter firefighting
{{Helicopters and rotorcraft Aerial firefighting

Firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

Incident management