Skip to main content
Go back

Heavy helicopters and Bambi buckets

A helicopter in flight. Cable suspended from it.

 

Feature photo:
Sikorsky S-61 loading a bucket of water.

Photo credit:
James Murray, Salmon Arm Observer, c. 1998

During the Silver Creek Fire the Sikorsky S-61 heavy helicopter was used for both water drops and to transport crews fighting the fire. A Bambi bucket was attached to the aircraft when it was in firefighting mode. After the bucket was filled, the helicopter pilot flew over the fire and dropped water directly on hot spots that the ground crews could not reach. Unlike an air tanker, the helicopter had pinpoint accuracy. When required, pilots were able to drop water on a single tree.

Man in dark blue coveralls and sunglasses stands in front of empty water bucket.

Pilot Chad Murray stands behind the water bucket his helicopter will carry. A water bucket is also called a Bambi Bucket.

Helicopter in flight in a smoke filled sky. Cable hangs from the aircraft. Forest in background.

Visibility was a big issue. The air was thick with smoke.

Helicopter in flight.

Photographer James Murray missed this flight.