Northern Wisconsin forests are experiencing their worst drought in 70 years. The area’s abundant freshwater lakes have receded to record low levels and, although the spring had been unseasonably cold, by the end of May fire danger was high. More than 946 wild fires had consumed over 2,600 acres throughout the state and fire danger in the vast 1.5 million acre Cheqaumegon-Nicolet National Forest was so severe that the U.S. Forest Service contracted with Erickson Air-Crane to keep an S-64E Aircrane on ready alert at the Rhinelander, Wis. (KRHI) airport.
For weeks the S-64E sat idle on the secure ramp, flanked by Erickson’s maintenance trailer and a 6,000-gallon fuel tanker that trails the helicopter on the ground. The six-man crew–two pilots, two mechanics, and two drivers–were rotated out every 12 days. At first, the presence of the crew and their giant helicopter “Olga” was a local curiosity, but then an area Internet news site reported the cost of keeping the helicopter on station–a figure subsequently denied by Erickson executives–and some local coffee house derision began to set in. That all changed on the afternoon of May 20.
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