Gallery: U.S. Marines train to fight wildfires

The U.S. Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, based at Camp Pendleton, California, participated in the annual Cory Iverson Wildland Firefighting Exercise at Las Pulgas Lake with its Bell UH-1Y Venom.

The UH-1Y is a significant evolution of its previous incarnation, the UH-1N, with a glass cockpit, forward-looking infrared, increased engine power, a four-blade composite rotor system and other features that make this variant safer and faster, resulting in a 50% larger aircraft Range and greater payload capacity.

The Cory Iverson Wildland Firefighting Exercise is an annual event focused on interagency collaboration between the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the Camp Pendleton Fire Department, and the U.S. Department of Defense ( DoD) focused. The goal of the training event is to ensure that each organization can work in a cooperative and coordinated manner to respond to wildfires. This is important because mutual interagency support is often required during times of severe wildfire outbreaks, and the squadron is often tasked with working closely with local, state and federal partners to support Marine Corps Installations West (MCI West) installations and local communities in the United States to protect the entire area year.

In addition to the UH-1Y Venom multi-role helicopters pictured and involved in this exercise, Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 also utilizes and operates AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.

Shown are U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms flying to a target area and using Bambi buckets to drop water on the simulated wildfire. Bell's Super Huey features an all-glass cockpit and forward-looking infrared cameras that help identify hotspots day and night and ensure accurate target acquisition.

The appearance of visual information from the Department of Defense does not imply or constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense.