By Taylor MacPherson

Province adds converted water bomber to wildfire fleet

Jul 21, 2017 | 2:00 PM

Saskatchewan has added a new aircraft to its fleet of firefighting planes.

The newest plane is a CL-215T water-bomber, which recently underwent a nine-month conversion to upgrade the piston engines to turboprops and modernize the avionics. The new tanker joins 16 other water-bombers and smaller “bird dog” aircraft in the provincial wildfire fleet.

Pilot Ian Stevenson, who has been flying water-bombers for nine years, said the conversion was like upgrading a tractor into a sports car.

“This is the best airplane in the world to fly,” Stevenson said. “We can put lots of water on a fire in a short period of time.”

The tanker features two 600-gallon water tanks, which are filled by flying the amphibious aircraft over a body of water and letting two retractable external scoops top off their water supply. The water is then mixed with foam to improve the spread and visibility of their drops, which are performed at an altitude of less than 150 feet. Stevenson said the tanks are filled in less than 10 seconds, and the aircraft can drop its payload on a fire, refill its tanks, and perform another drop in less than a minute if conditions are right.

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“Once you get used to it, it becomes routine,” he said. “This is a very easy aircraft to fly.”

Saskatchewan’s newest firefighting aircraft has only been in service since May, but it’s already seen action. Stevenson flew the craft to Wollaston Lake yesterday to help control a fire which was threatening cabins, he said, and dropped 20 full loads of water onto the blaze.

Environment Minister Scott Moe said although the province is experiencing a below-average wildfire season, it is crucial to maintain a modern fleet because of wildfire agreements with other provinces and even American states.

“In 2015 in Saskatchewan we were the recipient of very welcome assistance with our challenging fire season that we had here in our province,” Moe said. “This year, we’re very fortunate to return that favour and lend assistance to our neighbours in both British Columbia and Montana.”

Saskatchewan has sent significant resources to British Columbia to assist with the numerous wildfires there, Moe said, and the other four CL-215T tankers in Saskatchewan’s fleet are currently helping out in Montana along with two smaller aircraft and 18 support staff members.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews