Out of control fires in the Knysna and George areas of the Western Cape, South Africa, killed 8 people and resulted in local authorities requesting assistance from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). In response, four helicopters from the South African Air Force, comprising three Oryxes equipped with water-dropping Bambi buckets and a BK 117 for command and control, were deployed along with a mobile air operations team (MAOT) to the area. The helicopters conducted over 359 separate firefighting sorties, dropping a combined 720 000 litres of water, to help bring the fires under control. [source]
