The programme will be a game-changer for fire response to Colusa County by allowing a fast assault on fires. The H125 is medically configured with ICU-level equipment and can be outfitted with a firefighting bucket.

REACH, now in Tulare, is a participating provider in the AirMedCare Network, the largest US air medical transport membership programme with more than 320 air medical locations across 38 states.

The tribal medical air unit, a twin-engine Airbus H145 helicopter, takes flight April 1 and will be dispatched to emergencies by Riverside County's CAL FIRE operations centre.