A special bucket rigged to a Chinook allows crews to drop 2,000 gallons of water onto a fire. It is attached to the aircraft by a 120 foot cable and has a valve that lets them control how much water they release at a time.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

Story & photos by MSG Dave Largent
- Posted Apr, 2008

In early March at Yakima Training Center (YTC) there wasn’t any smoke or fire. In fact there probably wasn’t anything dry enough to start a fire if you tried.

So why were members of Company B, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation, dumping buckets of water around the training center?

Well, it’s like this. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. And once there’s smoke and fire it’s too late to start training to put the fire out.

The pilots and crew lower the bucket until if fills then adjust to the added weight as they head out to deliver a deluge to the fire line.

That’s why the Chinooks, pilots and crews from B 1/168 spent two days of their Annual Training watering down parts of YTC even though there wasn’t much more than a slim chance of fires anywhere this early in the spring.

Rigging a Chinook helicopter with a 2,000 gallon bucket attached to the end of a 120 foot cable weighing just over 18,000 pounds filled with water and acting like a monster pendulum changes the way an aircraft handles.

“IT’S HEAVY,” said Capt. John R. King, commander, B 1/168. “It weighs about 18,000 pounds which is close to our maximum load. The Chinook has a lot of power and the water bucket gets close to maxing it out. Plus it’s on a long line and the pendulum effect really affects the aircraft, he added.

Taking advantage of the pendulum effect allows the crew to place a larger amount of water into a specific spot. They use this approach if they are trying to extinguish a hot spot or stump that requires more water than a passing drop would deliver.

“We have to have the bucket on a long line to keep the draft or rotor wash high enough above the fire to not fan it,” said Staff Sgt. Perryman, flight engineer instructor, B 1/168.
“Some people say you’re not really flying the aircraft, you’re flying the bucket. It’s got the water and that’s what you want to place, said King.

It’s not just the pilots who have to adjust to the added load. The crew takes on additional duties as well.

The Washington Guard tries to keep six to eight pilots trained and available to support the Forest Service if the need arises. But, it’s not just the pilots that need to be signed off by the forest service; the crews also must be trained. For bucket drops in the Chinook a minimum crew consists of two pilots, a flight engineer and a crew chief. This year they will have four fully trained crews available.

The pilot has to fly the load when it’s on a line like that, said Perryman. We have to anticipate the movement and adjust to drop the water on the fire line,” he added.
“We give directions to the pilots to keep them on the line and we try and keep the bucket on the line and warn them with ‘Ready, Ready, Drop’ so they know the load is going to change and they can maintain a steady altitude. We open the valve and adjust it to control the release of water,” said Perryman.

“The pilot can’t see the bucket so it requires a lot of team work with the guys in the back,” said King.

Each aviator responds a little differently so you have to learn each pilot’s style and adjust your calls to them,” said Perryman.

The pendulum effect, the pilot not being able to see the bucket and the changing weight as the water is released from the bucket all add to the difficulty of flying the water buckets.

The newer bucket they trained with this year has a torrential valve which allows them to adjust the volume of water being released and that allows them to do multiple drops with one load. A complete bucket which includes the cable, valve and controls, costs from $22,000 to $30,000 depending on its final configuration.

 “I’ve been doing it for years and I’m still learning,” said DJ Jensen, flight engineer instructor, B 1/168. “As you bring in a new crewmember you start again. You’re only as strong as your newest member’s abilities,” he added.

Once they complete their training they must be certified by the Forest Service before they can fly bucket missions for them.

“The Forest Service must sign off before you can do any bucket work,” said Perryman.
“I’ve been bucket qualified for about ten years,” he added.

The National Guard does not respond every time there is a forest fire in the state.

“The Forest Service must use civilian contractors first and call us only if it’s a big fire and no more contractors are available,” said King.

About every other year, the Guard has been called out to assist with firefighting.

“We expect and train for being called up every year,” said King, “but, we’ve only gone about half of the last eight years. Last year when California had their fires we were on standby, but we never received the call, there were so many aircraft there we weren’t really needed,” said King.


The pilots and crew lower the bucket until if fills then adjust to the added weight as they head out to deliver a deluge to the fire line.The water becomes a heavy rain as it is hit by the wind from the forward movement of the aircraft. The bucket can hold 2,000 gallons of water and has a valve that allows the crew to control the amount of water released.

Staff Sgt. Frank S. Devine II, crew chief, B 1/168, gives the crew a “thumbs up” after they flew above an old railroad bed they used to simulate a fire line.Staff Sgt. Frank S. Devine II, crew chief, shots video as the last of the water drops form a rainbow during fire bucket training at Yakima Training Center.