Blackhawk helicopter lands in Ritzville

RITZVILLE – The airport on Friday, Aug. 19, received an unusual visitor – a Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.

Currently deployed to Deer Park, the aircraft's two ex-Army pilots work for Northwest Helicopters, an Olympia-based company that provides aerial firefighting support from Washington to California.

On Friday, the helicopter dropped hundreds of gallons of water on the nearby Wagner Road Fire in Whitman County, and the Ritzville airport was their closest refueling stop.

Blackhawk helicopters were originally built for the U.S. Army to carry 13 soldiers, two crew members, and two pilots. They can stay airborne for more than two hours and boast maximum speeds of 160 mph. When deployed on fire-fighting missions, the helicopters are equipped with "buckets" filled by dipping into rivers, lakes, reservoirs or portable tanks.