Forestry Minister Gerry Byrne says adding the fifth water bomber back into the air services fleet will be a great asset in fighting and controlling wildfires, not just by air but through building resources on ground capacity.
NL’s fifth waterbomber, which went out of service in 2018, will now be repaired at a cost of nearly $15M. It struck a rock while taking on water in a lake on the Burin Peninsula. Forestry Minister Gerry Byrne says adding the fifth water bomber back into the air services fleet will be a great asset in fighting and controlling wildfires, not just by air but through building resources on ground capacity.
Yesterday, Government announced that a contract has been awarded to De Havilland Aircraft of Canada for the repair work for the CL-415 water bomber. Byrne says this is all part of the Atlantic Wildfire Initiative to create a Centre of Excellence in this province. He says no doubt the costs have increased but this is a highly specialized piece of equipment that you can get through one company.
Byrne says when examining increased wildfire activity due to climate change, NL is ahead of the game in preparing for the inevitable. The work will be carried out in the province by PAL Aerospace, a subcontractor for De Havilland. It’s expected to return to service for the 2026-27 season.
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