Crews put a new UH-1 Huey helicopter into service at about noon Monday following several hours of checkups and test flights from the department's hangar in Helena.
Two ``super scooper'' airplanes, CL215s from Minnesota, also are now on standby after arriving in Montana last week, said Ted Mead, chief of the department's Fire Aviation and Management Bureau.
``Our primary goal on both of these is to be used for initial attack,'' he said.
The state's unveiling came the same day that the federal government denied a Missoula company's request to get its air tankers back into the skies, saying more information was needed on the life of the planes.
Officials still hope the new Huey and loaned super scoopers will help them avoid a fire season like 2003 and put them ahead of the game as conditions for large blazes continue to ripen across the state.
Crews responded to 20 fires sparked by lightning Sunday in western Montana and others to the southeast in Powder River County. Fire danger is considered high to extremely high across most of the state.
``If it doesn't (get worse) that's great,'' DNRC helicopter pilot Tal Williams said. ``But if it does, we're ready for it.''
Officials also need more resources because of the war in Iraq, which has cut the number of National Guard helicopters available for wildfire suppression. A Blackhawk helicopter was invaluable in teaming up with state aircraft last year, Mead said.
``We knew the utilization of their resources was going to be less than it was last year,'' he said.
Officials got the go-ahead in June to build a fourth Huey in the state's arsenal, using a 1969 frame of the craft that had been in storage and $500,000 in parts from onsite Cobra helicopters.
State and contract crews spent seven weeks working on the aircraft. They installed upgrades and features not seen on other Hueys, such as larger gauges and a better engine and transmission.
The helicopter is primarily used for initial attack on wildfires. It can transport small ground crews, douse a fire with up to 320 gallons of water from a bucket and bring drinking water and other supplies on a special sling board.
``The Hueys have been a real workhorse for us,'' Mead said.
The scooper planes, on loan from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, can carry more than 1,400 gallons of water or retardant and can scoop water from a lake or river on the fly in just 10 seconds.
They were used last year to battle wildfires in Glacier National Park and those near Lincoln and the Missouri River Breaks area, and are the only aircraft built specifically to fight wildfires, officials said. Contract pilot Jim DePiero and his colleagues arrived in Helena last week from fighting fires in Alaska.
The crews are contracted in Montana through August.
