The chopper wobbled precariously in the air for a second, its rotors kicking up a fury of dust and grit as the bucket emptied 800 litres of water on to a hot spot left after the inferno of days before.
As it roared away, the empty bucket trailing at a sharp angle, fire crews moved in with shovels, digging away at the blackened detritus of a forest fire, exposing the embers for another monsoon bucket to quell if necessary.
The chopper was just one of a procession of aircraft dealing with hundreds of hot spots dotted across the more than 800ha affected, each of which will require the personal attention of the firefighters.
While the stench of fire hung heavy in the air at the huge block of forestry land devastated by fire this week, the flames have been quelled and the thick pall of smoke that covered the city on Wednesday has dissipated.
But just below the top soil, the burning embers still smoulder, and the backbreaking work to put them out will take months, deputy principal rural fire officer Robin Jackson said yesterday.
At the site of the fire, which the Otago Daily Times was allowed to access for the first time yesterday, 90 trained firefighters were beginning that task.
"They're going to be months in here; literally months," Mr Jackson said.
The weather forecast was fine, with moderate winds, but no rain.
If it stayed like that, the work to put out the hot spots could continue.
"But if it gets gusty, the whole thing could change."
Whatever the weather came up with, Mr Jackson had no doubts the crews would be successful in their work.
"We'll beat the devil."
