Aerial Entertainment: Meeks Bay

      While gazing across the Lake saturday evening, we watched the dips and dives of a forest service helicopter providing support for fire fighting efforts near the Desolation Wilderness and Ward Canyon.   Evidently, lightning strikes started a few brush fires in some remote areas nearby.  The "bird" carried its bucket on a sling under the belly and dipped low over the lake for a fill.  
       It's an interesting process and the risks are not readily apparent to the casual observer; but the Minister of Aviation, with vast experience in helicopter operations expressed the comment that flying with sling load(especially liquids) can be very, very dangerous for many reasons, not the least flying with external weight at high altitude!
     Apparently the efforts were successful- no fire trucks were dispatched from meeks Bay Fire.