Action News goes inside the helicopter operations fighting the Garnet Fire at the Reedley Helibase

REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) — On Friday, Action News climbed aboard a helicopter at the Garnet Fire Reedley Helibase.

“This aircraft can fly for about two hours,” airbase manager Joe Romero with the U.S. Forest Service told us.

The Bell 205 we saw can hold 320 gallons of water with two crewmembers sitting in the front and six in the back.

“This guy over here is usually the crew boss, and his job is to make sure the operation is going smoothly back here,” Romero explained in the cabin of the helicopter.

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As the hand crews dispatch on the ground, the helicopter takes back into the sky.

Dramatic new videos provided by the U.S. Forest Service show the raging flames that helicopter crews have encountered at Garnet.

“The pilot will just go off and fly to a dip site,” Romero said. “He’ll get water, he’ll come back and be talking to someone on the ground, and see where they need the water.”

Out of the helicopter, we then went inside the ARBO, which is essentially a mobile control tower.

Crew members there listen to six radios. They are always waiting for the calls from the air attackers flying over the fire.

“It’s our job to facilitate what they need,” Romero said. “Whether it’s an aircraft here or an aircraft at another base, the ARBO will call out to order them up and get them to the fire.”

MAP: See where California wildfires are burning right now

As we were there, the radar showed four helicopters near Balch Camp, the area with critical PG&E infrastructure.

The operators write on the windowpanes to keep track of their helicopters…

“When it’s very busy with radios going off, it can get stressful,” Romero said. “It’s best to have two to three people in here.”

The base’s six helicopters are part of dozens of aircraft assigned to Garnet.

The region’s small airports, like Fresno’s Chandler and Reedley Municipal, are now playing a key role as helicopter bases.

“When we launch an aircraft out of here, it’s a 10 to 20-minute flight, tops,” Romero said. “Now, they can go up there faster, get turned around, come back, get fuel, and go back.”

Some of the pilots are trained to do water drops at night in near total darkness.

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