Two MI-17 naval helicopters from Hakimpet air base joined the firefighting exercise at the Seshachalam forest on Tirumala Hills on Thursday. The wildfire, which began on Tuesday, was by and large contained after the choppers sprayed thousands of litres of water throughout the day.
The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) vigilance and security staff and fire fighters drawn from other agencies also did their bit in bringing the raging fire under control.
The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam had requested the asistance of defence forces on Wednesday but by Thursday morning, the intensity of the wildfire subsided.
An aerial survey was conducted at the break of dawn and it was around 1 pm that the two MI-17s took off from the Renigunta airport.
They conducted 16 sorties in all - collecting water from the Kumaradhara dam and pouring it over the fire at Kakulakonda and Papavinasanam.
The two MI-17s were guided by a Cheetah chopper.
Senior Army and Navy officials including Col KJM Roy, Tirupati NCC Group headquarters commander and others, supervised the operations.
“We are going ahead with our ground operations,” Col K J M Roy told Express.
On the ground, the personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and other wings continued their exercise at various stretches of Seshachalam forests.
Over 100 army personnel are at Tirupati ready to join the firefighting anytime.
Meanwhile, the cause of the fire remains a mystery and officials said they are yet to come to a conclusion. Though the loss of flora and fauna is yet to be estimated, a firefighter said he had noticed a spotted deer charred to death near the wind mill.
TTD JEO K S Sreenivasa Raju personally supervised the firefighting on board one of the MI-17.