Army National Guard helicopter training exercise at Round Lake canceled

LATHAM, NY (05/05/2015)(readMedia)-- A New York Army National Guard fire-fighting training exercise scheduled for this morning at Round Lake has been canceled.

The two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and aircrew which were going to train on dropping water from 560-gallon buckets slung under them, will be rerouted to assist in fighthing a forest fire underway in Shawangunk Ridge State Forest near Summitville in Ulster County.

The aircraft are based at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Albany International Airport in Latham.

New York Army National Guard helicopter pilots and aircrew use the buckets, known by the trademarked name of Bambi Buckets, to scoop up water from lakes and rivers and then dump the water on forest or wildfires.

A ten-Soldier team will accompany the helicopters.