Douglas County OKs $1.53 million helitack contract to extend year‑round helicopter wildfire support

The Douglas County Board of County Commissioners approved a $1,530,000 public contract with TransAero Ltd. to renew exclusive‑use helicopter wildfire support and add modified availability to extend aviation coverage into off‑season months.

The contract, presented by Mike Alexander, director of emergency management, guarantees 168 days of exclusive use and includes an option for the vendor to be on short notice during months when the helicopter would historically be off contract. "Douglas County helitack is a 1 of a kind service that we provide here, funded by you all, Board of County Commissioners, to the citizens of Douglas County," Alexander told the board during his presentation.

The county provides a wildland fire crew trained to operate with the aviation resource; TransAero supplies the helicopter, pilot, mechanic, fuel truck driver and vehicles. Alexander said the combined approach—"Aviation suppresses, firefighters extinguish"—is designed to "respond hard, heavy, and fast" to fires inside the county and to assist neighboring jurisdictions when reimbursable calls arise.

County staff presented 2024 operational statistics: 103 total aviation missions, 32 missions responding to wildfires (22 in Douglas County and 10 out of county that were reimbursed), 652 water drops and 92 hours of direct air suppression. Alexander said the county typically can be airborne within 10 minutes of notification and that the contracted availability requirement is nine hours per day when on exclusive use.

Alexander described a financial benefit tied to out‑of‑county missions: planned availability costs are passed to outside incidents when the helicopter is deployed elsewhere, which offsets local budget needs. He told commissioners the county spent about $75,000 on unplanned in‑county wildfire responses in 2024 and that reimbursements and cost transfers produced net savings the county could apply to future budgets.

Commissioners praised the program as a mitigation tool for wildfire risk and for protecting economic investment in the county. Commissioner Teal said Douglas County is unique in the state for offering a locally managed helitack service and that the program’s performance helped during the prior summer’s fires. The board voted unanimously to approve the contract extension and amendment.

Action on the contract passed by voice vote.

The contract will be administered by the Office of Emergency Management; the contract period and any further amendments will be handled under the county’s procurement rules.