It's been one week since the 'Garden Fire' burned dangerously close to homes in Fallbrook.
Fire crews point to a low-tech piece of equipment that helped save the day: the heli-hydrant.
The heli-hydrant was installed in Fallbrook in July of 2021 and hasn't been used until last Friday.
CalFire said the cause of the Garden Fire is still under investigation, but one thing was certain.
Joey Bradshaw, battalion chief at North County Fire, said, "I immediately recognized that this fire had the potential to go extended attack."
Bradshaw was the first incident commander on the scene last Friday, and he deployed the helicopters, knowing it would help slow the fire and help the ground crews.
Multiple helicopters accessed the heli-hydrant located at the top of a hill in Fallbrook to fill up for water drops.
The heli-hydrant holds five thousand gallons of water, and North County Fire said multiple helicopters used it about 35 times on the first day the fire broke out.
North County Fire said it took helicopters about 30 seconds to fill up and only minutes to fly over and drop the water.
The helicopters dropped anywhere between 350 to 1,000 gallons of water at a time on the wildfire.
The heli-hydrant was join effort brought on by The Rainbow Municipal Water District, Cal Fire, and North County Fire Protection District.
The heli-hydrant can automatically refill itself, drawing water from a tank just feet away.
Jake Wiley, General Manager at the Rainbow Municipal Water District said it's the most reliable source of water for firefighters in the area.
"This was strategically placed," Wiley said. "To actually locate this thing in an area that didn't have accessible water. There are certain ponds and lakes around the area, but a lot of times those aren't reliable. They can dry up usually around the time we need the water the most."
Cal Fire says the Garden Fire burned 48 acres in just two days and no structures were lost because of this heli-hydrant.
Mike Cornette, Cal Fire's PIO said, "It saved a lot of time because this water location was so close. It's a game changer."
