LOOK: PAF continues heli bucket operations vs Benguet forest fire

Photos from the Philippine Air Force

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday said it continued its heli bucket operations in Benguet to suppress the forest fire in the province.

PAF’s Bell-205 helicopter conducted two heli bucket operations on Feb. 27 (Tuesday) in the municipalities of Sajatan and Bokod.

On Feb. 25, the same helicopter also performed two sorties of heli bucket operations in Bokod, dropping a total of 11 buckets of water across Barangays Karao and Banao.

The same aircraft, on Feb. 26, conducted three sorties over Itogon, Benguet, dropping 15 buckets of water on Mt. Lusod.

Each heli bucket only contains 800 liters of water, which is not enough to suppress the fire in the woods, according to PAF spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo.

To address this, Castillo said they will conduct cloud seeding operations in Benguet this week.

At least 200 hectares of forested areas in the Cordillera region have been ravaged by fires since Jan. 2024, according to authorities.

READ: AI use in fighting wildfires increases as their threat rises

In Feb. 2019, five men were killed while helping put out a fire that razed a 60-hectare forest area in Benguet.