Helitack crews consist of highly trained and experienced firefighters who are
assigned to and respond to wildland fires aboard CDF helicopters. Once arriving
on an incident the crew, typically 5 to 6 firefighters along with a fire captain, are let
off with fire fighting hand tools and initiate fire suppression actions. Helitack crews
also perform other helicopter support operations when not assigned to direct fire
line operations such as helibase operations and support. Source:CalFire site