DID YOU KNOW?

DFPA owns and operates a fixed wing, single engine aircraft that serves several important roles during fire season.

While our aircraft is commonly used for Air Attack and lightning reconnaissance, it also plays a critical role in wildfire detection.

One area where DFPA conducts aerial detection reconnaissance is the Millcoma Tree Farm, an estimated 210,000 acres of privately owned timberland located in Oregon’s Coast Range and spanning the boundary between Coos and Douglas Counties.

Throughout fire season, DFPA conducts aerial detection flights over the Millcoma Tree Farm during the week. Most recently, we expanded our surveillance operations to include weekend detection flights.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

Because when a fire is detected during its earliest stages, firefighters can be dispatched and begin initial attack before a small fire could become a large one.

Early detection gives us a critical advantage:

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲.

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲.

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥.

Aerial detection is just one of the many tools DFPA uses to protect the people, communities, forests, and resources within the Douglas District