These guys are heroes!

[rpcrowe]

We had a brush fire a few miles from my house.



The aerial tankers got on it fast and held it down to a manageable size



I am very thankful for the heroism of these pilots who fly right into the fire smoke



Luckily, there wasn't much wind and the drops were right on target. Lots of backlit smoke obscures the image...



I was told that this Skycrane Helicopter only arrived in San Diego County today. If so, the helo was put to good use. The Skycrane was making its drops quite a distance from me...



The smaller tanker helicopters filled up from a golf course pond across the freeway from the fire. That allowed the helicopters to be almost constantly over the fire. The police had the road to the pond blocked off so I couldn't get any images of loading the water. The Skycrane had to fly a few miles away to a lake to load up with water. It would have drained the pond that the smaller helos were drawing from.

BTW: In cases like this, I don't worry very much about using a slower shutter speed to blur the rotors

[Wavelength]

That is well narrated; nice set

[JBW]

yes they are

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[rpcrowe]

Thanks guys. The firefighters aided by the helicopter drops handled this fire so well that there was no danger to the East side of the freeway: Lawrence Welk's Resort and then Hidden Meadows where I live. I live in Hidden Meadows which is in the mountains just East of the Welk resort
https://www.google.com/search?q=lawr...HazRAU4QsAQIGw

[Jimr1961]

That last shot. I watched these guys going through maneuvers at Castaic Lake dropping and hovering while they drop their hose into the water to fill. Quite amazing. And, very nice shots in action.