National Guard F-16s to fly over Colorado communities Friday

COLORADO -- In a second salute to healthcare workers, F-16s with the Colorado Air National Guard will be buzzing some communities they missed on their first pass last week.

The flyovers are scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Friday, according to our partners at 9News.

This time, the 140th Wing Fighting Falcon team will conduct their flyovers over healthcare facilities in Brighton, Granby, Kremmling, Rifle, Fruita, Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, Cortez, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Alamosa, Trinidad, La Junta and Parker.

“As much as we wanted to include all of the critical Coloradans who are leading the fight against COVID-19 during the first flyover, we had to prioritize based on where the highest number of cases were,” 140th Wing Commander U.S. Air Force Col. Micah Fesler said to 9News.

Because of fuel limitations, the May 6 flyover wasn't able to to cover the entire state in one go, said Fesler.

“We know there are many more cities and towns throughout the state where people are making significant sacrifices to battle the pandemic, so we’ve gotten approval to do one more flyover mission to salute as many more heroes as possible,” he told 9News.

The jets won't be able to cover ever town in Colorado, but Fesler said the sentiment is meant for all COVID-19 front line responders.