Monument Helitack Crew History
Today we know the crew as Monument Helitack, but we bumped around a few times before setting down roots at the foot of Mount Herman. Prior to 1983 there was a helicopter stationed in Larimer County, CO at Red Feather Lakes. Sometime in '83 the crew pulled up stakes and set down next to the Jeffco (Jefferson County) Airtanker Base in Broomfield, CO. They were known as Jeffco Helitack. Back then the crew consisted of only three firefighters, but in '84 the crew took on a few more, and in 1990 they became Rocky Mountain Helitack.
In 1996 they packed up the trucks and moved for the last time, digging in at Monument Fire Center. Monument is an ideal spot for a helicopter crew; an excellent location for IA on the Pike and within arm's reach of the communities of Monument, Colorado Springs and Denver. The current crew is a family of ten, and who knows what the future will bring in terms of crew configuration.
The crew gained rappel capability in 2005 when forest management recognized the value in having the ability to rapidly insert firefighters into otherwise- inaccessible country. Monument flourished as a rappel program until 2009 when the Forest Service elected to stop using light helicopters as a rappel platform. We welcome the potential to return to rappel capability and in the mean time we'll focus on our mission: aerial delivered firefighters and aviation management wherever we're needed.
If you were on the crew in the past, please email or give us a call. We would love to hear from you. The full history of the crew isn't entirely known, but we are hoping you can help us fill in the gaps. If you have any photos, we would be grateful to grab copies and post them here.
The crew gained rappel capability in 2005 when forest management recognized the value in having the ability to rapidly insert firefighters into otherwise- inaccessible country. Monument flourished as a rappel program until 2009 when the Forest Service elected to stop using light helicopters as a rappel platform. We welcome the potential to return to rappel capability and in the mean time we'll focus on our mission: aerial delivered firefighters and aviation management wherever we're needed.
If you were on the crew in the past, please email or give us a call. We would love to hear from you. The full history of the crew isn't entirely known, but we are hoping you can help us fill in the gaps. If you have any photos, we would be grateful to grab copies and post them here.
Monument Helitack Alumni
Unfortunately our collection of crew photos is slim. If you wore the Monument shirt in the past and have a picture to share, please give us a ring!
