A bucket may not seem like much of a weapon against the type of wildfires that ravaged thousands of acres across Florida and Georgia this spring, but one that holds more than 600 gallons of water can douse some flames, especially when dropped from a helicopter.

"You can't put a fire out with helicopters, but you can knock it down," said Timber Weller, a Florida Division of Forestry (DOF) spokesman.

The Florida National Guard provided two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to the wildfire fight in central Florida early last month.

One of them, dubbed a "Fire Hawk," features a 1,000-gallon tank attached to the belly of the aircraft. It can drop water over a specific target or can spread water throughout a larger area.

The other Black Hawk assigned to the mission has a large bucket that can drop more than 600 gallons.

Between May 5 and May 23, the Florida Guard helicopters dropped 379,360 gallons of water.

"Through the years we've gotten pretty good at coordinating with the [Division of Forestry]," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Tenaro.

The helicopters also provide a quick means of assisting in an emergency. With such an extensive fire, helicopters can often reach a problem area faster than anything else.

"Without helicopters," Mr. Weller said, "it could be 20 minutes before someone could get to them."

Georgia Guard helicopters have been busier, dropping more than 5 million gallons of water on fires as of May 11.

Both states also provided personnel and equipment on the ground.

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