New York Army National Guard helicopter crews conducting fire bucket training in Schuylerville area on Friday, Sept. 18
Schyulerville, New York (09/17/2026) — New York Army National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter crews will be conducting water bucket training firefighting training on the Hudson River south of Schuylerville on Friday, Sept. 18.
The helicopter crews, which are based at the Albany International Airport in Latham, will use the buckets, known by the trademarked name of Bambi Bucket, to scoop up water from the river fly south, and then drop the water on a target location.
This allows them to practice the same techniques used to extinguish wildfires.
The collapsible buckets, which are suspended under the helicopters, can dump 560 gallons of water on a fire each time they are used.
The training will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The team will be operating out of Garnseys Airport during the training.
Department of Environmental Conservation Rangers will be part of the training. DEC Rangers play a key role in coordinating water bucket drops with firefighters on the ground during actual missions.
A full water bucket weighs just over 2 tons, so helicopter aircrews need to practice flying and hovering with that weight underneath the aircraft.
New York State Police helicopters are the first line of response during most wildfires. But the Bambi Buckets they carry are smaller than those used by the Army National Guard.
During a March 8, 2025, wildfire on eastern Long Island, three New York Army National Guard helicopters were involved in the firefighting effort.
The three UH-60Ms made 43 bucket drops in total, with each crew flying approximately 3 hours and dropping a total of 28,380 gallons of water.
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A New York Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk crew dips a Bambi Bucket into the Hudson River during firefighting training.
New York National Guard
Lt. Col. Jean Kratzer, 518-786-4581Share this Story
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