Inside the CHP Helicopter That Rescued 26 People From the Atlas Peak Fire
submitted by KQED News
on 03/06/18
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CHP Pilot Pete Gavitte and his flight officer Whitney Lowe were flying their helicopter over the North Bay on the night of October 8th, when they heard chatter on their radio about a fire growing on Atlas Peak. Within minutes, they were over the fire. The officers landed their helicopter in a field on the peak, and began ferrying people to safety. They returned again and again, even as powerful winds hammered their helicopter. By the end of the night, they would fly 42 people off of Atlas Peak. To read the full KQED investigation into the north bay fires: kqed.org/fireinvestigation
