Long Island Army National Guard Helicopters Conduct Fire Bucket Training Wednesday 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 (05/08/2012)(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 Wednesday May 9.

The training exercise was originally set for May 3 but was rescheduled for May 9 due to inclinate weather.

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 into a target location. The training is part of an annual requirement to prepare to fight forest fires in support of other state agencies and will e 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.