VIDEO: Specialized interagency training is getting firefighters prepared to battle from above this wildfire season.
18 students from different CAL FIRE units and the U.S. Forest Service are going through a two-week course called the California Aerial Supervision Academy. Students take part in air attack scenarios using air tanks and helicopters for water drops.
"It's another avenue for us to take in our careers within aviation, but even off on the rural areas, the tactics and knowledge we're getting out of this translates into multiple areas: working on the helicopter, working on the ground, understanding what is happening firefighting-wise above you," Helitack captain with the CAL FIRE Mendocino unit, Gary Engen, said. During the simulation, assistant chief Clint Blackmon with CAL FIRE’s Tulare unit says students work on communication with each other to make sure they can fight wildland fires safely and effectively.