DENVER — A small fire beside Mount Elbert, south of Leadville, doubled in size on Wednesday. The Interlaken Fire is burning near the Twin Lakes. The U.S. Forest Service needed air support to fight the fire that has now spread to 443 acres.
The closest options were in Canon City, Colorado Springs and Centennial. They didn't request Colorado's expensive, shiny new firefighting helicopter.
The new Firehawk helicopter, a converted Black Hawk, is stationed at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield. In 2021, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill authorizing the state to spend $24 million to buy one.
Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) said the new tool for wildfire season wasn't deployed to the Interlaken Fire because it wasn't the closest asset, and the pilots are still in training.
"It's not a vehicle you go pick off the showroom floor," said DFPC Director Mike Morgan. "These are very specific assets with very detailed specifications."
Morgan said delays, recalls on the engine and problems with the water tank set the project back a year and a half. The Firehawk could be deployed in an emergency, case-by-case situation, according to Morgan, but he estimates it won't be fully operational until August.
"It's complicated when you get into the tank operations: the helitack crew, when you get into hoist operations, the dipping and all the things that go along with this helicopter," said Morgan.
This helicopter is in addition to other types of air support for first responders. It's a massive, expensive tool Colorado hopes to introduce this wildfire season.
"I think a lot of the perception, Kelly, is that this Firehawk is the only helicopter in the state," Morgan said. "It is one of many tools in the toolbox."
The state spent $24 million to buy the first Firehawk helicopter three years ago. Lawmakers were so excited about how it could help firefighters fight wildfires that in 2023, the sate spent another $26 million to buy a second Firehawk helicopter.
The second Firehawk is expected to arrive in Centennial in September to be converted.
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