The Cle Elum airport became a staging ground for helitack training for the Washington State Deparrtment of Resources Wednesday.
DNR grew its fleet to eight helicopters last season, and this season has added an additional two pilots.
"Helitack" means using helicopters and their crews to attack fires. During fire season, helicopters and crews, which include firefighters, are based around the state close to where fire weather meteorologists say fire risk is elevated. The idea is to fly them to the fire in 20 to 30 minutes, deploy on the ground, and begin containing the fire. The helicopter can then go back up equipped with a bucket and drop water directly onto the fires path.