Los Alamos County Airport Manager Bobbi Huseman received a phone call from the crew of Chinook Helicopter 948CH requesting the use of the Los Alamos Airport in support of the fires in Northern New Mexico. The Chinook Helicopter and associated equipment is now staged at the airport.
The Chinook Helicopter is used for aerial firefighting capabilities; it has three external hooks to haul cargo. In the case of firefighting, the main center hook can be used to carry a long line and water bucket, commonly known as a bambi bucket. Other commercial versions of the CH-47 have internal tanks with actuated doors on the belly of the aircraft and a snorkel to fill up the tank.