N.L. government commits to repairing 5th water bomber 7 years after, with grounding

All of Newfoundland and Labrador's five water bombers will be in service for the 2026-27 wildfire season, promises the provincial government.

On Wednesday the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure announced a $17-million contract has been awarded to aircraft manufacturer De Havilland Aircraft of Canada to repair the province's fifth CL-415 water bomber.

The water bomber has been out of service since 2018, when it hit a rock in a lake on the Burin Peninsula, causing significant structural damage.

Previously announced as a $14.8-million contract, the province says it did not include the costs of HST in the initial statement. According to department spokesperson Maria Browne, the contracts value is subject to change.

The multi-million dollar contract will address the structural repairs required so that the water bomber can return to the fleet next year. Additional maintenance will also take place, which is not accounted for in the contracts current price point.

"Required maintenance will be addressed as necessary as the water bomber is being repaired, which may change the overall value of the work," Browne said. "Required maintenance is necessary to meet Transport Canada regulations which is an operational requirement for all aircraft in the fleet, and not directly related to the damage caused by the incident in 2018."

PAL Aerospace, a subcontractor for De Havilland, will repair the aircraft in the province.

"Returning this aircraft to our provincial fleet, along with our commitment for a new Atlantic Wildfire Centre, will further enhance our province's wildfire firefighting capacity," Transportation Minister Fred Hutton said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Wildfire season approaching

This summer will mark the seventh wildfire season that Newfoundland and Labrador has operated without its full fleet of water bombers.

More than 80 wildfires took place across the province in 2024, with Labrador bearing the brunt.

Churchill Falls and Labrador City faced evacuation orders in June and July. that forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Firefighters were brought in from New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario to help suppress the fires, including using a bird dog aircraft, a type of plane that leads a fleet of water bombers, flown by a pilot and an air attack officer.

Bird dogs control the air traffic in a fire zone and can pinpoint the best area to drop water by flying 100 to 1,000 feet above it. Quebec and Ontario have systematically used bird dog aircraft to coordinate water bomber operations since the 1980s.

In September Premier Andrew Furey said the province will obtain a bird dog in the future.

"We've already committed to a bird dog. I'm not sure exactly where that is in the timeline, but we have committed to procuring a bird dog," Furey told reporters.

Integrated facilities in Labrador

Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown has advocated for the restoration of the province's fifth water bomber for years.

In previous interviews he says he wants to see a water bomber stationed in Labrador West, despite the province's focus on building a new Wildfire Centre in Gander.

"We had Churchill Falls evacuated, we had Labrador City evacuated… In every single one of those cases for forest firefighting, we had to call upon other provinces to come and help us," Brown told CBC News in September.

"Obviously, we aren't prepared to fight a fire."

In the statement released on Wednesday, Forestry Minister Gerry Byrne says the Wildfire Centre will have integrated facilities in Labrador.

"We have taken the lead to establish a world-class Atlantic Wildfire Centre with integrated facilities in Labrador to enhance efforts to protect Atlantic Canada's forests," he said.

PC forestry critic Pleaman Forsey is criticizing the province over delays to repairing the water bomber, saying the Liberal government spent to much time "flip-flopping" between considering fixing and selling the aircraft.

"The Liberals have failed to take action to fix this aircraft and now the province is facing another fire season without adequate resources," Forsey said in a statement.

"Why did it take seven years for the Liberals to realize the importance of repairing the water bomber and returning it to service?"

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