Long Island Army National Guard Helicopters Conduct Fire Bucket Training Thursday Morning

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A New York Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk dips water out of the Hudson River during fire bucket training in the Albany, NY-area on April 9.

RIVERHEAD , NY (05/02/2012)(readMedia)-- Two New York Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters will conduct water bucket training in Sarnoff Preserve Lake in Riverhead in the vicinity of County Route 63 on Thursday May 3.

The helicopters, based at Army Aviation Support Facility #1 Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma will practice scooping water out of the lake in Bambi Buckets slung under the helicopters and then dumping the water back into the river. The training is part of an annual requirement to prepare to fight forest fires in support of other state agencies and will be conducted in conjunction with the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission's Wildfire Task Force New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The aircraft will begin training at around 10 a.m. Media must be on site by 9 a.m.

Bambi Buckets are a trademarked name for a collapsible water buckets made by SEI Industries, a Canadian company. They can dump 660 of gallons of water on a fire at a time.

For more National Guard information contact Major Jason Lefton at 631-471-0481.

For additional information and questions related to the Central Pine Barrens, please call the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission office at (631) 224-2604

For additional information related to the New York State Department of Conservation and the Sarnoff Preserve, please contact Mr. Bill Fonda at (631) 444-0350.

DIRECTIONS

From State Route 24 (aka Nugent Drive or County Road 94, accessed via Exit 71 of the Long Island Expressway) in Riverhead head east to County Road 104 (aka Riverhead-Quogue Road). Then, drive south on County Road 104. The entrance to the Preserve is directly off of the southbound lane of County Road 104, on the west side. The entrance is shortly after the McLeod Trailer Park. There is a large brown and yellow wooden sign just behind an Arborvitae shrub. The entrance is a small, paved turnaround with a locked yellow gate at the end. Parking will be within an open grassland pavilion area. The site can also be accessed from the south via Sunrise Highway (State Route 27) be exiting at Exit 63, driving north on County Road 31 (aka Old Riverhead Road) and then proceeding northbound on County Road 104.