Dozens watched as a Cal Fire helicopter dropped water from the Mad River onto a fire in Blue Lake. The helicopter was already there for a demonstration, but the fire was not planned. The Blue Lake Safety Fair was going on at Perigot Park when smoke started to rise about a mile away. Colin Burton, a pilot for Cal Fire, flew the helicopter, which made 11 drops.
“It was the darndest thing. Here we were in Blue Lake, and our fire captains watched a transformer explode about a mile from here, and a vegetation fire started,” Burton said. “So we waited, are we getting the call or not, and we got a call. So we hooked up the bucket here in their wonderful ballpark, and went to the river, got water and started to drop the water on the fire.”
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