Heavy rotorcraft are joining several nations' initial attack forces as "helitankers," despite their high cost of operation. When employed properly, though, they can deliver more water or retardant per hour than any other aircraft. All classes of helicopters are being used more and more for firefighting, primarily because they are flexible air resources. During the 2003 fire season, U.S., state and local agencies had an estimated 600-800 rotorcraft under contract during peak periods. Numbers fluctuated, because most were on short-term "call-when-needed" (CWN) contracts. A much smaller fleet was on "exclusive-use" contracts that ran 60-90 days, giving officials a ready helicopter on-site. Ask a fire incident commander what air resources he needs, and the answer is usually: "More helicopters." Ro-torcraft missions include dropping buckets of water, initial attack by "helitack" crews―firefighters delivered by air (the helicopter either lands or crews rappel to the ground on ropes), ferrying sling-load cargo, infrared mapping, reconnaissance, personnel transportation, medical evacuation and aerial ignition of controlled burns. Later, they are used for rehabilitation of burned areas, flying everything from sling-load cargo to aerial reseeding missions.
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