Black Hawk helicopters deployed for Kansas wildfire
MEDICINE LODGE- Firefighters trying to snuff out the biggest wildfire in Kansas history are getting help from military helicopters -- and a potential assist from looming rain or snow.
Four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard were deployed Saturday in the effort to contain the persistent prairie blazes that since Tuesday have charred at least 620 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) in Oklahoma and southern Kansas, destroying at least two homes and some livestock. No serious human injuries have been reported.
At least two of the helicopters have 660-gallon (2,500-liter) buckets that will be used to dump water from local sources onto the flames, said Ben Bauman, a spokesman for the Kansas Adjutant General's Office. The National Guard also was contributing a fuel tanker truck and another ground support vehicle.
