Mission Variety
Thousands of acres of land are destroyed or damaged by wildfires annually. One of the NDF’s tasks is to reseed these damaged lands with drought-resilient grasses, wildflowers and shrubs. For that, the helicopters of NDF Air Operations are indispensable. “The unique thing with our helicopters is that we can carry two seed buckets,” Kirkland says. “We dispersed almost 9,000 acres with seeds in the aftermath of the Tamarack fire in 2021 in just a week and a half. That is the biggest project that we have done so far. But that is not all that we do. The Division of Mines asked the NDF to look for unsurveyed and unsecured mines and holes. We’re helping them to find these sites so they can place fences and signs to prevent people from falling into them. We also have an agreement with the Nevada Department Of Wildlife (NDOW). We help them out by doing surveys using their aircraft (the Eagle Copters 407HP) to count elk, sheep, deer and other animals. We also filled our Bambi Buckets with wildlife water guzzlers to provide wildlife with water during dry seasons. Now, (NDOW) can do that themselves with their powerful 407HP. Furthermore, we participate in prevention events where we display our aircraft and explain our tasks.”
Challenges
Kirkland expounds on the challenges of flying for NDF Air Operations. “It starts with the basic experience that goes from pilots to the ground crews. Being able to understand fire behavior, being able to understand meteorological conditions and where you are, how you are performing, how the aircraft is
performing. There are changing
conditions all the time. Wind conditions change as the fire affects the wind. Being able to read those conditions and what the crew on the ground needs and how to support them are some of the biggest challenges. Let’s not forget the long duty times! Fire season starts normally on the 1st of June. From then until about Oct. 1, we operate 24/7. We man two aircraft during that time for seven days a week. That means the helicopters operate during daytime, but the crew on the hill will work all night long.”
72 Mar/Apr 2025
A Helitack crew connects the Bambi Max Bucket to the Eagle Single helicopter. NDF’s Bambi Buckets have pumps to draw water from low-water-level basins or rivers when no other options are available in the direct vicinity of a wildfire.
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