20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
PULL UP!!

During the Bighorn wild fire in June 2020, multiple aerial tankers and helicopters were brought in in an effort to suppress the raging wind-swept fires. The DC-10 was a large passenger aircraft, or in the US Air Force version, the KC-10 is an airborne tanker. This particular crew was working at extreme low level to protect foothills homes and the Bighorn Sheep grazing areas along the mountains. On the final pass for the afternoon, the DC-10 came perilously close to ground after pulling up from a retardant drop.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2020
Date Uploaded: 11.2022
Photo Location: Oro Valley, Arizona, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Copyright: © Wallace Van Winkle