CALHOUN COUNTY, Ark. – Two Chinook helicopters from Mississippi and Oklahoma are joining the fight against the Bunker Fire near East Camden, the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management announced Friday.
The aircraft were sent through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, the mutual aid agreement that allows states to share resources during disasters. Each helicopter carries a 2,000-gallon Bambi bucket for water drops. The missions began Friday, Sept. 18.
Mississippi sent a five-person crew for a six-day mission. Oklahoma sent a six-person crew for a five-day mission. ADEM said the aircraft will operate alongside state and local agencies already working the fire.
“We appreciate Mississippi and Oklahoma for joining Arkansas in this coordinated mission. Their aviation support strengthens state and local agencies’ ability to contain the Bunker Fire,” ADEM Director AJ Gary said.
The Chinooks add significant lift to an air operation that has so far relied on two Arkansas National Guard UH-60 Black Hawks, which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders mobilized Tuesday along with two bulldozers. By Wednesday the Guard had dropped more than 48,000 gallons of water on the fire. A Chinook’s 2,000-gallon bucket carries roughly three times the load of a Black Hawk’s.
The fire was 75% contained as of Friday morning, with State Forester officials saying crews had good lines around the fire but were still working several hot spots inside the perimeter. It has burned roughly 2,800 acres according to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s wildfire map.
The fire has been burning since Monday near Highland Industrial Park, home to Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Missile Systems, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy and the Arkansas Fire Training Academy. The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations Monday for residents north of Highway 278 from Calhoun Road 10 to Calhoun Road 95, and Southern Arkansas University Tech moved on-campus students to the Camden Fairview High School gymnasium before they were allowed to return. Fifteen homes and about 150 workers were evacuated as the fire spread.
ADEM activated the State Emergency Operations Center Tuesday in response to the fire.
Conditions across South Arkansas remain primed for fire. Sixty-seven of the state’s 75 counties are under burn bans, including Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita and Union, all rated high risk by the Department of Agriculture. The state forester said burn bans in South Arkansas will likely stay in place for at least another month and called this an exceptionally hot and dry year.
No cause has been announced. Wildfires can be reported to Forestry Dispatch at 1-800-468-8834.
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