Foothills Residents May See Firefighting Planes Over Next Week As Crews Train

DENVER (CBS4) - If you live in the northwest part of Denver or in the adjacent foothills you may see firefighting aircraft making low passes over the next week. That's because the Jeffco Airtanker Base at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield will be the site of an annual aerial wildland fire training.

Ground crews fill U.S. Forest Service-contracted tanker planes with fire retardant slurry June 13, 2002 at Jefferson County Airport near Denver. (Photo by Kevin Moloney/Getty Images)

Several agencies will be participating including members of the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing and other firefighting agencies. The training will include performing drops of non-potable water in the nearby Arapaho, Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel National Forests, as well as on lands operated by the Bureau of Land Management.

Lucien Pichette took this photo on March 12 at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport of the "Montana Fly boys who helped with the Lefthand fire."

"We are eager to join up with our civilian and military partners this week and prepare for another challenging wildfire season," said Col. James DeVere, 302nd Airlift Wing commander. "Training together is vital. We are able to battle wildfires as one seamless interagency team working with the U.S. Forest Service because of the training we do together."

Aerial firefighting training (credit: CBS)