Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Firefighting

Firefighting Pilot Nicholas Dale Remembered After Fatal Colorado Helicopter Crash
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Firefighting Pilot Nicholas Dale Remembered After Fatal Colorado Helicopter Crash

By: Christa Swanson, Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado A 56-year-old Canadian pilot who crashed into a Colorado reservoir in a firefighting helicopter and died over the weekend has been identified. Nicholas Dale, a frontline federal contracted fire aviation pilot from Sooke, British Columbia, was killed on Sunday when his aircraft crashed into the Silver Jack Reservoir in western Colorado. He was involved in the battle against the Gold Mountain Fire. His body was later recovered from the aircraft, a K-MAX helicopter. The Gunnison Sheriff's Office says the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the crash. The sheriff's office said in a news release it "offers its deepest condolences to Mr. Dale's family, friends, and fellow wildfir...
State’s failure to pass through federal funds to firefighting agencies is putting SW Colorado operations at risk
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

State’s failure to pass through federal funds to firefighting agencies is putting SW Colorado operations at risk

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Emergency responders and firefighting agencies in Southwest Colorado are sounding the alarm and calling for immediate resolution to unpaid invoices going back, in some cases, to July 2024, because of, some say, utter incompetence by the State of Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s (DFPC) billing processing office. In a Jan. 27 meeting at the Upper Pine Fire District in Bayfield, county emergency management personnel, regional fire district leadership teams, representatives from multiple counties and state and local officials met to discuss the dysfunctions that could lead to an all-out crisis as the 2025 fire season approaches, because of a huge backlog in getting collective invoices for payment processed. ...