Colorado's newest firefighting helicopter shelved for several weeks during wildfire season
The "state of the art" Firehawk is undergoing required regular maintenance, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. An agency spokesperson told CBS Colorado the craft was taken out of service July 13 for thorough, mandated inspections.
Several wildfires were ignited by lightning strikes on Colorado Western Slope the same day the Firehawk was taken out of service. Four of the larger fires - the South Rim, Turner Gulch, Sowbelly and Deer Creek incidents - are still burning.
"We currently have 5 mechanics working on this....inspection to get it back up and operational ASAP," CDFPC's Tracy LeClair stated. The normal duration of such inspections is several weeks, LeClair added.
"We are hoping for sooner than that," LeClair stated. "They understand the urgency of getting us back up as soon as possible, without compromising safety."
The Firehawk is a version of the military's UH-70 Black Hawk built by Sikorsky. The Si70i's wildfire conversion features a 1,000-gallon belly tank, extended landing gear, and a retractable snorkel that can refill the tank in less than a minute.
Colorado ordered the aircraft following the 2020 wildfire season, one of the state's worst on record. The fires that year included the Cameron Peak, Pine Gulch, Grizzly Creek, Williams Ford, Middle Fork, East Troublesome and Calwood blazes. Three of those - Cameron Peak, Pine Gulch and East Troublesome - were the largest wildfires (in acreage) in state history.
Colorado's legislature approved almost $31 million in 2021 for the purchase of the Firehawk and the leasing of other helicopters until its arrival. State officials celebrated the purchase in a press conference.
"Not only will the Firehawk be an additional resource for aggressive and early initial attack," said Mike Morgan, Director of Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, at that press conference, "but it can also be used on longer duration wildfires."
The state's Firehawk recently reached 480 hours of flight time, necessitating the scheduled maintenance, CDFPC's Tracy LeClair explained.
"The military has the same scheduled maintenance and is down the same amount of time to perform these Safety Inspections as required by the manufacturer," LeClair stated. "The critical nature of performing quality maintenance on an aircraft is not like an ordinary vehicle. It cannot be postponed, and one mistake, malfunction, or component failure can be catastrophic and fatal, unlike rolling to the edge of a road and waiting for a tow truck when your car breaks down."
The maintenance includes some disassembly of the Firehawk to inspect the airframe, and the flight control systems and components running throughout it. Both engines will be removed during the process.
LeClair confirmed a second Firehawk is on order.
"We were planning to perform this inspection in the winter months, but we had no choice on this 1st helicopter," she said. "Once we have our second helicopter, we can stagger the maintenance to ensure one aircraft is available at all times. We don't have a solid delivery date for the 2nd one yet, but it is tentatively scheduled for delivery and acceptance late summer/early fall."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
33 minutes ago
- CBS News
Air quality advisories issued in parts of Southern California due to wildfire smoke
Air quality worsened in Southern California on Tuesday as smoke from three wildfires continued to spread throughout the region, according to local agencies. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a Smoke Advisory in the Santa Clarita Valley and much of the Inland Empire due to the fires, which will be in effect until midnight. According to the advisory, smoke from the Gifford Fire in Santa Barbara County has been pushed south by wind, making air quality unsafe for sensitive groups. The air quality in those advisory areas is expected to improve throughout the day; however, weather events in the evening hours could worsen conditions. While the advisory was only issued in those specific areas, air quality conditions were listed as moderate in portions of Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties. According to the National Weather Service, breathing in the smoky air can cause serious health conditions like heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks and difficulty breathing, especially to sensitive groups like the elderly, children, people who are pregnant and those with pre-existing health issues. Those looking for tips on how to protect their health in the smoky air conditions can find them here.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
National Hurricane Center Tracking Dexter, 2 Areas To Watch
The National Hurricane Center is busy tracking Tropical Storm Dexter and two areas to watch in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Storm Dexter appears to be weakening and should dissipate over the Northern Atlantic by the end of the week. A tropical wave near Africa could develop into a tropical depression later this week. Closer to home, we are expecting an area of low pressure to form off the Southeast coast. There is a chance for development, and a tropical depression could form by the end of the week or into the weekend. Regardless, tropical downpours could lead to flooding with an increased chance of rip currents at the beaches this week.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Prolonged impact': Canadian wildfires prompt air quality warnings for Midwest, Northeast
Wildfires in Canada are leaving a trail of smoke across the northern United States and prompting local authorities to issue health warnings for millions of people because of poor air quality. Blazes raging in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are fouling the air in the Midwest and Northeast, the National Weather Service said Aug. 4. Authorities from Minnesota to Maine have ordered air quality alerts, according to the Storm Prediction Center. The impact from the fires isn't as dramatic as the wildfires of 2023 that left New York City blanketed in a moonglow orange. But weak winds have left the smoke to linger over the northern United States for days, said Dan Cornish, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Michigan. "We're definitely seeing prolonged impact. We've had several days of hazy skies," Cornish told USA TODAY, adding the horizon outside the weather service office in Gaylord, Michigan, has been a "milky gray" for days. "Unfortunately, that's just going to continue to deteriorate air quality across much of this area." Storm Prediction Center alert maps show blanket air quality warnings for Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and the New England region. Stronger winds aren't expected to displace the smoke until Aug. 6 or Aug. 7 for the Midwest, Cornish said, but conditions in the Northeast probably will improve by the end of the week. Authorities recommend limiting outdoor activity in the areas with poor air quality. Children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory conditions, including asthma, are particularly vulnerable to the fine particulate matter small enough to be inhaled that is the toxic byproduct of wildfires, environmental officials warned. Where are the wildfires in Canada? The worst of the blazes affecting the United States are in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and western Ontario, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. Most of the Canadian blazes are sparked by lightning in dry, remote forested areas that are difficult for firefighters to access except by aircraft, Cornish said. "You get a lot of wildfires that can start up in those conditions, and it's a challenge, but that's the nature of it, quite literally," Cornish said. "There's nothing you can do to prevent it." What cities are the worst off? The blazes have catapulted major American and Canadian cities into the most polluted places in the world, according to a global air-quality index maintained by IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality monitoring company. Detroit, Minneapolis and Toronto were among the top 11 most polluted cities in the world on the evening of Aug. 4, according to IQAir. New York City and Montreal were among the top 20 most polluted cities, according to the global index. See the map of Canadian wildfires Side effects of inhaling wildfire smoke Wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and cause the following symptoms: Coughing Chest tightness Shortness of breath Dizziness Fatigue Particulate matter (PM) is one of the main components of wildfire smoke, comprising small particles of solids or liquids suspended in the air, USA TODAY has reported. According to Yale Medicine, the particles can be 10 micrometers, PM 10, or as small as 2.5 micrometers, PM 2.5, which can easily pass through a person's usual defense mechanisms and can "penetrate deep into the lungs, where they can impair lung function, cause illnesses, such as bronchitis, and increase asthma attacks." According to Yale Medicine, exposure to PM 2.5 particles can cause: Heart attack Stroke Lung cancer Decline in cognitive function Contributing: Julia Gomez This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canadian wildfire smoke to linger over the Midwest and Northeast
