ROTOR POWER: Spectacular Footage Captures Helicopter Extinguishing Californian Wildfires

This footage shows a Cal Fire FIREHAWK Columbia Copter 404 N484DF flying into a series of actions as firefighters dump millions of gallons of water to put out raging fires all over California.

The b-roll footage, which was obtained by Newsflash from Cal Fire, shows the Hawk N484DF being used to circle around burning hills across the US state of California and douse the flames with thousands of gallons at a time.

The Cal Fire FIREHAWK utility helicopter, based at Columbia Airport in Columbia, California, is specially configured for firefighting and rescue roles and can transport up to 12 firefighters.

Its powerful turboshaft engines generate 3,880 horsepower, allowing the aircraft to reach speeds of up to 224 miles per hour (360 kilometres per hour).

This footage shows a Cal Fire FIREHAWK Columbia Copter 404 N484DF flying into a series of actions all over California, undated. Primarily used for wildfire missions, the Cal Fire Hawk is often used for air rescue, aerial ignition, troop transport, reseeding operations, and mapping fires. (CAL FIRE TV/Newsflash)

Primarily used for wildfire missions, the Cal Fire Hawk is often used for air rescue, aerial ignition, troop transport, reseeding operations, mapping fires etc.