Thanks to those who commented on my fire photos from last night & wished us well. Don't see any more flames this morning from my house, but there are large plumes of smoke & helicopters & planes continue to fly overhead cleaning this up. The fire is reported as covering 60 acres & they seem to be containing it successfully. I took this picture this morning. This is an Erickson Aircrane (also known as a helitanker), which is a pretty amazing piece of technology for fighting fires. Here's a description from Erickson's website: "These Aircranes, armed with 2,650-gallon (10,031-liter) water tanks, combine the capacity of a fixed-wing tanker with the accuracy and refill speed of a helicopter. The Helitanker can drop over 25,000 gallons (~95,000 liters) every hour. Our ram scoop hydrofoil attachment refills from freshwater or saltwater sources in as little as 30 seconds, and the original “Hover Snorkel” design refills within 45 seconds from freshwater sources as shallow as 18 inches (46 centimeters). For extra firefighting power, an optional foam nozzle water cannon mounts on the left-hand side of the cockpit, below the pilot’s side door, offering precision delivery of water or foam-injected water. Once the fire has been extinguished, the Helitanker remains a valuable part of the operation, as it can deliver stabilizing Hydroseed to jump-start re-vegetation and prevent erosion. Erickson’s Hydroseed operations are particularly effective on steep slopes and inaccessible areas." So essentially, these machines have long hoses that siphon water from lakes, rivers or any other water source while flying over them at full speed to quickly get it to where it's needed...