Staring Down Into the Heart of the High Park Fire

Bambi Bucket Drop Nebraska National Guard crewmembers of Company C 2nd-135th General Support Aviation Battalion dump water from a Bambi bucket attached to a Black Hawk helicopter onto flames of the High Park Fire in Larimer County, Colo. Staff Sgt. Tate Petersen, Company C, 2nd-135th General Support Aviation Support

This rare view from a Black Hawk helicopter about to drop water onto a wildfire comes courtesy of the Nebraska Army National Guard, which is deployed in northern Colorado for the raging High Park Fire. Three Black Hawks and 14 other helicopters are among the heavy technology battling the blaze 15 miles northwest of Fort Collins.

As of Tuesday, firefighters had dropped about 1.3 million gallons of water on the fire, which started with a lightning strike June 9. It now covers 65,738 acres and is 55 percent contained. Read more about their efforts in our previous coverage.

National Guard units are also battling wildfires in Wyoming and New Mexico, which is still experiencing the largest fire in its history, at 263,500 acres in a remote area.

The Colorado National Guard's Flickr stream has several other impressive photos, which you can check out here.