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Harper seeks helicopter certification

Railroad uses firefighting aircraft

Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, is seeking federal permission to allow his firefighting helicopter to battle blazes on federal lands near the railroad tracks.

Harper has his own firefighting crews and helicopter to put out small fires the coal-fired train routinely starts in brush next to the tracks. Harper is allowed to fight fire on the railroad’s right of way but not on U.S. Forest Service land, which surrounds the railroad’s property for much of the route to Silverton.

In some situations, Harper does it anyway, he told Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., at a meeting last week.

“Twice I’ve put out fires threatening homes, just because I say screw it,” Harper said.

Harper asked Gardner for a letter of support to get his helicopter certified by federal authorities. “We meet all the regulations,” Harper said.

The Forest Service is examining the situation, said Matt Janowiak, district ranger for the Columbine Ranger District.

The agency needs a contractual agreement to pay for Harper’s use of the helicopter to fight fire on federal lands and is investigating whether Harper’s helicopter can be folded into an existing firefighting contract.

“We’re looking into it,” Janowiak said in an interview. “I’m hopeful that we’ll find the right contractual mechanism to make it work.”

Janowiak said his understanding is the helicopter is fully equipped and its pilot fully trained to fight fires on federal land.

Harper said not having his helicopter certified means federal firefighters have to be called out.

“I’ve paid as much as $200,000 to the Forest Service for their assistance, because they had to come,” he said.

Gardner did not directly respond to Harper’s request during last week’s business roundtable. The senator told Harper his children watch a D&SNG video posted to YouTube during car rides.

“That’s got us through a lot of road trips,” Gardner said.

The railroad attracts about 175,000 passengers annually, making it one of Southwest Colorado’s top tourist draws.

Gardner did address Harper’s desire for more visas for foreign workers. Harper said he’s unsure about the immigration status of some workers at his newly purchased hotel, the Grand Imperial in Silverton.

“There are some employees of the business, and I’m not sure about their backgrounds,” Harper said. “I’ve been told, just submit (the paperwork). If they give it to you, it’s not your problem.”

Harper purchased the historic hotel in April for $1.6 million.

Gardner replied, “For places like Durango with a tourism industry that relies on visas, we’ve got to fix a lot of those issues, recognizing that the needs of one industry are different from another industry.

“So, we’ve got a lot of work that needs to be done on an immigration reform,” Gardner said. “It’s important.”

cslothower@ durangoherald.com



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