Grant County Regional Airport

SEE WHAT’S POSSIBLE THE EASTERN EDGE online.eou.edu • 20+ Online Programs • Undergraduate & Graduate • Flexible and Affordable • 11 Regional Centers Call Today 855-805-5399 Grant County Regional Airport is home to the helibase and training center for the United States Forest Service Malheur Forest’s rappeler firefighters. This group is prepared to respond to any report of smoke in the nearby Malheur National Forest and the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. They also mobilize for large fire support missions all across the lower 48 states and Alaska. The program hosts seven aircraft; one Bell 210 rappel ship, one A-star helitack ship, one UH-60 heavy helicopter, one UH1H, two single engine air tankers, and one light fixed-wing. The partnership between the airport and United State Forest Service has been an important one. “A lot of our improvements came about, I believe, because of the association of the U.S. Forest Service and the firefighting,” recalls Doug Ferguson, a member of the Grant County Regional Airport Commission. “Our activities up here go hand-in-glove with what they do, and so much of the improvements to this place come about due to that need.”