Sask. Opposition decries grounded firefighting planes, government blames inspections and maintenance
SPSA says group tried to trespass at La Ronge Airport
Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP repeated criticisms of the provincial government's use of water bombers on Wednesday, with the province responding that planes were grounded due to mandatory inspections and necessary maintenance.
At a news conference Wednesday, the NDP focused on four firefighting aircraft in the province's fleet that have been idle during recent firefighting efforts.
"Frankly, it sounded unbelievable that in the type of fire season that we've seen that it could be possible that there were planes within the provincial fleet that weren't seeing service" Saskatchewan NDP Leader Beck said on Wednesday. "I can only imagine how incredibly frustrating that is to some of the folks who lost their homes."
The Saskatchewan government has four Convair 580A land-based air tankers and six CL-215T Turbine powered water bombers in its firefighting fleet, along with a host of smaller aircraft used to guide the tankers.
Four of those aircraft, two air tankers and two water bombers, have been idle during the province's firefighting efforts. The NDP also previously brought attention to an additional brand new water bomber, a Conair Dash 8-Q400AT airtanker, that the province took delivery of on May 30, but has not used yet.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Saskatchewan government said the two water bombers were grounded due to required structural inspections and the two air tankers were not used due to a lack of available parts.
It also said two other water bombers were unavailable for five days due to mandatory inspections that came sooner than inspected due to heavy usage.
"This is a normal part of operating any air fleet," it said of the inspections and mechanical deficiencies. "Furthermore, there is a national, critical shortage of qualified and experienced aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs). We have filled some vacancies by partnering with schools to fill positions with apprentices to build our capacity in the future."
That shortage was why the Dash 8-Q400AT air tanker was bought, the statement said. Responding earlier this week to criticism of that plane's lack of usage, Saskatchewan Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said its pilots hadn't yet been certified to fly it.
Trespassing allegations
On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) announced that its front-line staff had reported "a group of individuals were found attempting to trespass at SPSA air operations base in La Ronge, disrupting the work of staff and increasing the risk of endangering themselves and others."
"At any time — but especially during a wildfire crisis — it is unacceptable for anyone to interfere with wildfire and emergency personnel operations," the SPSA said.
Soon after that, the Saskatchewan NDP released a statement that seemed to connect that announcement with the Opposition party. On Monday, Carla Beck shot a video outside of the La Ronge Airport calling attention to the grounded planes, which the NDP released on social media the following day.
On Wednesday, the NDP called the SPSA statement a "desperate, ridiculous, and a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that nearly half of their air tankers were secretly grounded during the worst wildfires in a decade."
Later Wednesday, during a daily update on wildfires in the province, SPSA's president and fire commissioner Marlo Pritchard clarified that the alleged trespassing was a separate incident and did not involve the NDP video shoot. He said it involved a group of people approaching and trying to walk through a gate to the airport during the late afternoon on Monday.
Pritchard also said one of the grounded air tankers should be operational by the end of June, but did not provide a timeline for the other three aircraft.
Moderate weather helps firefighters: SPSA
The SPSA also said during the update that moderate weather had dampened the growth of the fires. There were 17 wildfires active in the province as of the update , with four listed as contained, four not contained, seven undergoing assessment, and two with firefighters focusing on protecting valuable buildings and infrastructure.
"None of the four significant fires have grown in any shape or form or have posed any new risks or threats," SPSA vice president of operations Steve Roberts said.
Five communities in the province are still under evacuation orders: Cumberland House, Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake and Whelan Bay.
Pritchard said about 500 homes have been lost in the fires. About half of those are classified as primary residences, while the rest are cabins and mobile homes.
Up-to-date info on active fires, smoke and related topics is available at these sources:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
