VIDEO: Cal Fire was down in Calaveras County Tuesday conducting a prescribed burn with an interesting piece of equipment not often seen.
The concept of backburning is a well-known firefighting technique, but doing so from a helicopter is something we don't often see. It could, however, be a bigger part of Cal Fire's fight in the future.
A prescribed burn is nothing new to Cal Fire or residents in certain parts of Calaveras County.
"It's a way that we can light fire on our terms as opposed to an out-of-control wildland fire," said Matt Harrison with Cal Fire.
This is something we don't often see.
"We're providing some training for aerial ignition and our ground folks in fire operations," Harrison said.
The unit is training pilots with an added application to their helicopters: a helitorch that can be used to backburn the area.