A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collects water using a Bambi bucket in South Korea on March 28, 2025. (U.S. Army)
SUWON, South Korea — Five U.S. Army helicopters slung with firefighting gear pitched in to help curb the worst wildfires in South Korea’s history, according to U.S. Forces Korea on Friday.
One CH-47 Chinook and four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with large water buckets, also known as the “Bambi Bucket,” were deployed Thursday to unspecified locations to drop water onto wildfires at the request of South Korea’s military, according to email from USFK spokesman Army Col. Ryan Donald.
Nearly 120,000 acres, primarily in the country’s southeast, burned in the week-long fire that displaced around 38,000 people and killed at least 30, according to a news release Saturday from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
Most of the fires were extinguished Saturday after a day of rain and cooler temperatures. The Korea Meteorological Administration that day forecast rain in Uiseong county, 100 miles southeast of Seoul, where the largest wildfires burned.
“Our consistent training with our [South Korean] allies has prepared us for real-world missions like this firefighting operation,” Donald said. “Our small contribution to the firefighting mission reaffirms the message that we are not just here as part of a war fighting alliance.”
USFK commander Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, in a Friday post on X, said he was “grateful to everyone supporting the response.”
“In times like this, the alliance stands as a testament to our enduring commitment” to South Korea, his post stated.
Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo issued an emergency order Thursday to the Ministry of Interior and Safety to prepare for more victims “displaced by the worst forest fire ever.”
USFK last lent a hand fighting wildfires in South Korea three years ago. Helicopters from the 2nd Infantry Division were deployed at Seoul’s request in March 2022 to wildfires in the mountains of South Korea’s eastern coast.
Army helicopters regularly practice water drops with Bambi Buckets near U.S. military installations in South Korea, such as Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek city and the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon.
The United States is “united in support for the people” of South Korea, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Friday.
“We have not forgotten [South Korea’s] unwavering support during the wildfires in Los Angeles and Hawaii,” she told reporters in Washington, D.C. “Just as they stood with us, we stand with them.”
South Korea’s government donated $1 million in humanitarian aid to Los Angeles county after the Palisades Fire burned over 23,400 acres starting Jan. 7, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs news release Jan. 24.
Five months earlier, the ministry said it provided $2 million in aid to the state of Hawaii after fires in Maui killed over 100 people.
Around 59,000 acres were burned in the second-largest wildfire in 2000, according to the Korea Forest Service.
