Colorado pushes to stop relying on rented aircraft to fight wildfires

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado is doubling down on its push to rely less on rented aircraft to ght wild res with the purchase of a second helicopter capable of quickly crisscrossing the state to detect and douse ames.

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill on May 11 allocating $26 million to buy another “Firehawk,” a converted version of the military’s ubiquitous Black Hawk helicopter. e Firehawk’s top speed is about 160 mph and it can quickly slurp up and drop 1,000 gallons of water.

When res aren’t burning, the helicopter can be deployed on search and rescue missions.

Right now, Colorado has no operational, stateowned aircraft that can drop water and retardant on res. Instead, it relies on contracts with private aerial re ghting companies to respond to blazes across the state.

Some of those air resources are pooled regionally, meaning that the rented helicopters and airplanes serve multiple states at the same time.

But that’s become an issue as climate change causes dangerously dry conditions across the Western U.S. In 2020, for instance, when Colorado had the three largest wild res in its history, the state struggled to secure the aircraft it needed because there were also res burning in New Mexico, California and several other states.

“We need to be able to control our aerial capacity,” Polis said before signing Senate Bill 161 at Centennial Airport hangar beside Colorado’s rst Firehawk, a hulking chopper painted red and white and emblazoned in the state logo. “We do some of that through contract work. But we can also do it, which is a lot better value for taxpayers on an ongoing basis, by purchasing some equipment that is good for decades.”

State re o cials estimated earlier this year that it would cost about $2.5 million annually for an addi - tional 150-day contract for a large air tanker, such as a British Aerospace 146. e Firehawk will operate yearround, though the state will have to hire and pay pilots and is responsible for the choppers’ maintenance. e rst Firehawk is expected to go into service in the coming weeks once testing and nishing touches are complete. e second chopper could be ready to go as soon as next summer. e helicopters join two single-engine Pilatus PC-12s in Colorado’s aerial re ghting eet. But those planes can only track blazes, not put them out. Other states have much larger wild re- ghting aircraft eets. e California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, for instance, owns a eet of more than 50 aircraft, including a mix of airplanes and helicopters. Reuters reports that a Cal Fire aircraft can reach most res within 20 minutes. e Washington State Department of Natural e Alaska Department of Natural Resources also owns a number of wild reghting planes.

Resources owns nine helicopters that battle res.

Polis said his administration doesn’t have plans to buy more Firehawks or other re ghting aircraft in the near future.

“We’re always going to analyze cost bene t,” he said. “We want to make sure that we have the air support we need when we have a re — and then we’re going to look at the most e cient way to get that.” e Firehawks are expected to be in service for upward of three decades, though they do require a lot of maintenance.

Mike Morgan, who leads the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, said the Firehawk is the most versatile tool the state could have purchased. It doesn’t need to return to an airport after dropping water on ames like a xed-wing plane. e helicopter can simply dip its snorkel in a pond or pool and quickly ll up for its next drop. e rst Firehawk will be stationed at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Je erson County, though it can be moved around the state and positioned in areas that are forecast to have high re danger. It’s unclear where the second chopper will be based. e Colorado Sun co-owns Colorado Community Media as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. It is a reader-supported news organization dedicated to covering the people, places and policies that matter in Colorado. Read more, sign up for free newsletters and subscribe at coloradosun. com.

Another plus: It has an external water tank instead of carrying a bucket, meaning it can y over homes and roadways that otherwise must be evacuated when other, bucket-wielding re ghting helicopters are in use.

“ is is probably the best tool in the toolbox we can ask for,” he said.