It took 10 minutes for Douglas County’s helicopter to get off the ground and begin dumping water on a spreading brush fire burning near homes in Louviers on Sunday.

If it weren’t for that response time, the 130-acre “Airport Fire” that spread near the small town of Louviers could’ve been a lot worse, both South Metro Fire Rescue officials and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said during a Monday morning news conference.

The fire prompted authorities to order the entire town of Louviers, located south of Chatfield State Park between Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock, to evacuate. The evacuation order has since been lifted.

“We are very fortunate this fire didn’t spread more quickly,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said on Monday, noting that 39 homes were evacuated.

In total, 140 personnel from across the metro Denver area responded to the blaze, which remained at 90% contained on Monday morning. No injuries or structure damage was reported, even as flames encroached residential and commercial structures near Main Street in Louviers, according to the South Metro Fire Rescue Chief John Curtis.

South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Brian Willie said the fire stretched roughly six miles.

The cause of the fire is under Douglas County Sheriff’s Office investigation. Multiple spot fires were located along the train tracks through Louviers, according to Willie.

“I could only imagine how bad this would’ve been had that (helicopter) not been immediately available,” Weekly said.

On day one of the fire, Douglas County’s helicopter dropped 26,400 gallons of water, according to Weekly. That doesn’t include a separate helicopter that came to assist with the blaze.

Douglas County’s wildfire aerial response program is part of a $1.8 million helitack investment.

Earlier this year, Douglas County commissioners approved a $1.5 million contract with Trans Aero LTD, providing aerial wildfire support, including the use of Type ll, 300-gallon water tank helicopters, until the end of 2025.

Additionally, through Dec. 31, Douglas County has three call-when-needed air support options, costing $100,000 per use. That includes options to use Boeing DC-10 Air Tankers and numerous helicopters “capable of delivering thousands of gallons of water to the front lines of a fire,” county officials said previously.

“This is exactly when preparation meets the possibility of a threat to our community,” Commissioner Abe Laydon, who has long led wildfire mitigation discussions, said on Monday.

Laydon has called upon every county in Colorado “to have year-round, helitack support.”

“Millions of dollars in property values are potentially lost in minutes because that resource wasn’t available,” Sheriff Weekly added.

Douglas County, located between Denver and Colorado Springs, is made up of 51% open space. Officials said it is Colorado’s only county to invest in a year-round wildfire aerial support team.

Douglas County’s fire piggybacks five other wildfires burning along Colorado’s Western Slope and in southwest Colorado, amounting to over 7,000 acres burned in Delta, Mesa and Montrose counties.

“Any county that could’ve faced a situation like this, if you don’t have a helicopter, you’re dead in the water,” Laydon told The Denver Gazette, adding the Louviers fire had the potential to be more catastrophic.

“Wildfire protection is the number one potential threat facing our community,” he said.