COLORADO, USA — Firefighting from the air can save property and lives.
Colorado has had the ability to drop water from a helicopter just sitting in a hangar, and now, not only does Colorado have its multimillion-dollar Blackhawk fighting fires, but it also has the most air resources it has ever had.
“This plane carries 1,412 gallons of water," Ryan Cleveland, pilot and trainer for Bridger Aerospace, said. "It takes about 10 to 12 seconds to scoop that water at a water source."
Cleveland just got to Colorado from Phoenix after fighting a wildfire in a plane based in Montana.
“We came here from Phoenix, Arizona yesterday and we flew about three-and-a-half hours on the Quarry Fire last night,” Cleveland said. “We were turning from the water to the drop in about six minutes.”
One of the two Super Scoopers worked the Alexander Mountain Fire in Larimer County on Friday.
“Because of the heightened danger here in the Front Range, we were sent here because we have an immediate response and very efficient in this type of topography,” Cleveland said.
The Super Scoopers are rented. The state does not own the aircraft.
“This plane is owned by Bridger Aerospace, and we contract with the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Interior, state agencies as well, and under those contracts, that's how we're executed on fires,” Cleveland said. “That's decided by a geographic area coordination center, and they weigh those priorities, and they determine what assets go to what region and how they're used within that region.”
"We have more resources than Colorado's ever had before,” Gov. Jared Polis, D-C.O., said.
The air resources in 2024 are double what Colorado had access to five years ago.
2024
- One Type 1 Blackhawk helicopter, state-owned, with another on order
- Two Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA), state-owned
- Two Type 2 helicopters, contracted for 230 days “Mandatory Availability Period”
- In 2025, the state will replace this contract with two state-owned, year-round Bell Medium high-performance helicopters.
- One Large Air Tanker (LAT), contracted for 120 days “Mandatory Availability Period”
- Two Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs), contracted for 240 days “Mandatory Availability Period” each
2019
- Two Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA), state-owned
- Two Type 2 helicopters, contracted for 120 days “Mandatory Availability Period”
- Two Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs), contracted for 150 days “Mandatory Availability Period” each
“We’re in a much better place now with the resources we have," Polis said. "If this was a couple years ago, we likely wouldn’t have had any aircraft ready to respond within 24 hours. We now control our own aircraft, we’ve added the additional helicopters, as well as fixed-wing capacity. It’s all being deployed in real time based on where it can make the biggest difference.”