KXLF

Posted: Sep 23, 2009 7:20 AM
Updated: Sep 23, 2009 1:57 PM

Air power is one of the assets which has been called in to help battle the Kootenai Creek Fire which has burned over 4,700 acres near Stevensville.

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When helicopter pilots are called in to help fight a fire, the first thing they look for is a source of water and for some of those working on the Kootenai Creek Fire, they're finding it in the middle of a grass field.

Four choppers have been constantly coming and going, making water drops on the fire above with the main source of water being a 6,700 gallon tank set up in the middle of a rancher's field.

"It's a gravity fed system. The water comes through the sprinkler line and gravity fills the tank. We have a valve on it we control how much water comes in" explained John McKee who's helping provide air support at the fire scene.

What makes this refilling station so effective is its location according to McKee. "That provides a dip source for helicopters that maybe is closer to the fire than natural features like a river or a pond."

When a blaze like the Kootenai Creek Fire keeps burning, the shorter the flight, the better. "It decreases the time it takes to go back and forth with the water" McKee told us.

The helicopter with a snorkel and internal tank can hold up to 300 gallons of water, while those with buckets, which have been mostly using a nearby pond, can hold 300 to 400 gallons.

The flight paths of the firefighting helicopters are determined and monitored by personnel both on the ground and in a plane that circles high above the fire.