Super Scooper Plane Scoops Water From Skilak Lake to Fight Swan Lake Fire
A US Fish and Wildlife Service employee witnessed a Super Scooper aircraft scoop up a large volume of water from Skilak Lake which was then used to fight the Swan Lake Fire, active nearby in the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area, Alaska.
The employee, Scott Slavik, was on hand to record the video on August 24. Slavik told Storyful, “the ‘Scoopers’ or ‘Ducks’ were engaged on an active part of the fire and using Skilak Lake for refills.”
The Swan Lake Fire has been ongoing since June 5 and “was ignited by lightning in a remote area of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness.” As of August 29, 160,033 acres were impacted by the fire, with 713 personnel working to bring it under control. On Sunday, the estimated containment date has been set to September 15, 2019.
Slavik also said, “The intent of sharing this video is to demonstrate the skill and training of these pilots as well as their importance as a wildfire suppression asset.”
The Aerospace-Technology site says Super Scooper aircraft have, “four water tanks installed in the main fuselage compartment have a combined capacity of 6,137 liters.” Credit: Scott Slavik via Storyful
