A CL-215. Photo courtesy of Saskatchewan Environment.
Saskatchewan Environment Aviation Operations personnel are preparing for another season of fire fighting in the province.
The program was not hit by cutbacks in last month’s provincial budget, and officials are expecting an average fire season.
Denis Renaud, the Director of Aviation Operations in La Ronge, says once again this spring, much of the pilot prep will be done in southern Saskatchewan.
“Probably as quick, we will be starting to do that where our Convair 580’s will head down to Estevan, where we will be staging the aircraft from there,” he said.
Some CL-215T aircraft will also operate in the Estevan area this spring.
Renaud says people in the La Ronge area may notice some training activity this weekend.
A total of 34 pilots will be using the two types of air tankers and bird dog planes owned by the province to operate out of several air tanker bases.
Crews have already been on standby this spring because of fires in the US Midwest.
Renaud says with a tanker base in Estevan, air tankers from Saskatchewan could make the trip to North or South Dakota very quickly.
Air tankers and helicopters can also be brought in to Saskatchewan if needed through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Mutual Aid Resources Sharing (MARS) Agreement.