Douglas County Approves $1.53M Trans Aero Year-Round Helicopter Contract

Douglas County’s Board of Commissioners voted on Feb. 24 to invest $1,530,000 to secure year-round aerial firefighting access, and the county posted a notice titled “Year‑round aerial firefighting support in place for 2026” on Feb. 25. The amended 2026 contract names Trans Aero, LTD as the contractor for a Type 2 helicopter capable of delivering 300 gallons per drop and guarantees the aircraft will be in Douglas County for a minimum of 168 days through Dec. 31, 2026, with additional activation available at the discretion of the Douglas County Office of Emergency Management.

Operational details in county reporting and meeting coverage present differing timelines for the 168-day guarantee. At an April 8 commissioners meeting, Mike Alexander, Director of Emergency Management at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, described an earlier January agreement as providing a “hawk-level” helicopter on an exclusive basis for a minimum of 168 days, seven days a week, from May 17 through Oct. 31. The county notice and the April 8 meeting record both cite the 168-day figure but disagree on whether those days run May 17–Oct. 31 or extend through Dec. 31; the contract also allows OEM to activate the aircraft outside guaranteed days if elevated fire danger warrants it.

The county framed the program as an enhancement to local firefighting capacity after Trans Aero’s Type 2 aircraft responded to 33 wildfires in 2025, including 24 incidents inside Douglas County and nine out-of-county responses for which costs were reimbursed. Mike Alexander said, “We are the only locally sponsored helitack program in the state of Colorado.” Commissioner Abe Laydon asserted, “Douglas County is now the only Colorado county with its own dedicated firefighting helicopter and crew on standby year‑round.” County communications and past reporting credit the helitack team with delivering water “to the front lines of a wildfire” and enabling a “hard, heavy, fast” response.

Complementary preparedness steps approved by commissioners include multiple call-when-needed public service contracts at an April 8 meeting, each capped at $100,000 to supplement the Trans Aero arrangement. Douglas County has also promoted a Pano AI-backed camera network that county officials credited with the timely discovery and containment of a wildfire on Bennett Mountain above Strontia Springs Reservoir. Sheriff Darren Weekly has ordered Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for unincorporated areas under Ordinance No. O‑012‑004, which limits open fires, open burning and fireworks.

Financially, the county notice lists a specific $1,530,000 commitment while some press reports round the figure to $1.5 million; documents and meeting minutes reference both a January contract approval and the Feb. 24 vote. A showcase flight organized by the county was reported in late February as part of public demonstrations of the capability. The differing timeline language between county postings and meeting remarks leaves the exact schedule of guaranteed in-county days ambiguous; contract language and commissioners’ minutes will determine whether the 168 guaranteed days are concentrated May 17–Oct. 31 or extend through Dec. 31, 2026, and how exclusivity and mutual-aid reimbursements will be handled.