Helicopters remain steady presence at Waldo Fire

As the Waldo Canyon wildfire nears full containment, helicopters continue to work from a helibase at the Air Force Academy.

The helibase once had as many as 12 helicopters assigned to the fire, but that number has fallen to five as the need for them decreases.

Among the two helicopters dropping water on the fire are a Skycrane and a Kamax. The Skycrane uses a tube to suck as much as 2,000 gallons of water onto its tank. The Kamax is one of only 22 in the world and has wings partly made of spruce wood.

The pilots have flown during daylight hours, and even during last Tuesday’s firestorm that destroyed nearly 350 homes in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood.

The helibase manager is Justin Jager, a Colorado Springs native who lives in Nevada but returned to apply his knowledge of the area to the firefighting effort.

“My thoughts were with my family who still lives here,” he said as he recalled watching the fire spread into Mountain Shadows. “They were evacuating at the time. When I finished with my shift, I went and helped them evacuate.”

Jager said his family and their home are fine.

Fire officials said on several occasions, hikers in restricted areas interfered with water drops from helicopters. Officials ask that people stay out of restricted areas for their safety.

Pilots said they will keep flying until the smoke is gone and the fire is out. After that, it’s on to the next fire somewhere else.