How do helicopters drop water during wildfires if there is a lot of smoke?

Wildfires are very dangers and they spread very fast. In California, there are a lot of wildfires every year. These usually take place during the summer when it is very dry. Very little rain falls on California when the wildfires start. Then it is difficult to put them out. Firefighters must go into the wilderness where these fires are and try to put them out. It is very dangerous for them to do this.

However, the wildfires spread and kill animals’ habitats and people’s homes and communities. Helicopters and planes fly over these wildfires and dump buckets of water onto them. However, it is difficult to see through the smoke, but the firefighters know where these fires are because they are monitoring them. Then they can give the helicopter pilots the coordinates to drop the water.

Helicopters are able to drop water and other fire retardants on wildfires when there is a lot of smoke first by flying behind the smoke plumes (and with the wind) not by flying into the smoke plumes (and against the wind).

After reaching the fire, the helicopter will hover over the fire and drop the water from their bucket, or from an apparatus called a helitank. It only takes several seconds to drop the water. While smoke is rising from the fire, it is also being blown away from the helicopter and there is usually not enough smoke to obstruct the pilots view.