Wildland Fire Support

A helicopter flies near the Lewis Peak fire in Shenandoah National Park in 2007.

NPS Photo / Barb Stewart

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are integral to wildland firefighting, whether dropping water or fire retardant on fires, ferrying equipment or firefighters to remote fires, or extricating an injured firefighter to medical attention. Nearly 1/4 of our annual operations are dedicated to wildland firefighting. Read about some of the more interesting fire-related stories that involve NPS aviation.