European countries intend to purchase 22 twin-engine scooping air tankers

DHC-515
DHC-515. Image by De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.

As drought and unprecedented heat waves result in a surge of wildfires in Western Europe, attention is drawn to the resources available to assist firefighters, especially fixed wing aircraft.

The European Union budgeted about 900 million euros in 2021 for civil protection, preventing and responding to crises, and expects that amount to increase.

Currently the EU coordinates and funds the deployment of 12 fixed wing firefighting airplanes and one helicopter pooled by EU countries. Reuters reports that as assistance is expected to rise due to climate change and more frequent wildfires, the EU plans to purchase crisis-response aircraft, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said.

From Reuters:

“These planes will be technically bought by the member states but they will be 100% financed by the European Union,” said Lenarcic.

Lenarcic declined to name the companies involved as contracts have not yet been signed, but said plans are to relaunch production of amphibious planes that scoop up water to douse fires.

In a March 31, 2022 press release, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada announced a new twin-engine water scooping aircraft, the DHC-515, formerly known as CL-515. The CL-515 was first teased in December 2018, but the actual production has been delayed.

De Havilland wrote that they “launched the De Havilland DHC-515 Firefighter program, which will involve negotiating contracts with our European customers and ramping up for production,” said Brian Chafe, Chief Executive Officer of De Havilland Canada.

“European customers have signed letters of intent to purchase the first 22 aircraft pending the positive outcome of government-to-government negotiations through the Government of Canada’s contracting agency, the Canadian Commercial Corporation,” the announcement read. “De Havilland Canada expects first deliveries of the DHC-515 by the middle of the decade, with deliveries of additional aircraft to begin at the end of the decade, providing other customers the opportunity to renew existing fleets or proceed with new acquisition opportunities at that time.

“The final assembly of the aircraft will take place in Calgary, Alberta where work on the CL-215 and CL- 415 aircraft currently takes place. It is anticipated that more than 500 people will need to be recruited over the coming years to successfully deliver this program.”

Meanwhile there may be disagreement in Portugal about which type of firefighting airplane to purchase. The Portugal Resident reports that the Council of Ministers approved a resolution to purchase 12 helicopters and two “heavy duty” amphibian airplanes. The report is that the country intends to spend a total of €60 million to buy two CL-415s which are no longer in production. They are most likely looking at the soon to be manufactured DCH-515.

The Council of Ministers’ resolution that approved the purchase of the two scoopers, according to the Portugal Resident, “chose to finance the operation with PRR money coming from Brussels, and from money available through the European Mechanism for Civil Protection.”

The Portugal Resident wrote that João Marques, president of the association of Portuguese Volunteer Firefighters, recommends that they spend the money instead on Fire Boss single engine scooping air tankers that he said cost about €3 million each.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Gerald.

Fire that ordinarily helps the boreal black spruce forests now threatens them too

12:37 p.m. PDT Oct. 31, 2021

Swan Lake Fire Alaska
Black spruce burning in the Swan Lake Fire near Mystery Creek southwest of Anchorage, AK in 2019. Alaska DNR photo.

This is an excerpt from an article at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

—

Warmer, drier conditions that lead to more frequent fires in Canada’s vast boreal forests are threatening the dominance of black spruce trees that for thousands of years thrived in a healthy relationship with forest fires.

Black spruce trees and the thick layer of peat they take root in are great fuel for the fires. So typically, every 100 years or so, a fire would sweep through and take out a stand of these iconic boreal trees.

That same fire would warm up the black spruces’ waxy cones, releasing its seeds that would allow the black spruce forest to regenerate.

But in recent years, climate change has undermined the healthy relationship between black spruce trees and forest fires. More frequent wildfires are pushing large areas of black spruce forests past their recovery point.

As a result they’re being replaced by other species, and sometimes the forest doesn’t regenerate at all.

“We do see evidence of shifts away from black spruce dominance in more than one third of the sites,” said Jennifer Baltzer, the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change at Wilfrid Laurier University.

This shift away from black spruce dominated-forests could have far reaching implications for the wildlife that depend on them — like caribou — and for the massive amount of carbon these forests store underground.

Baltzer is the lead author of a new study that analyzed more than 1,500 former burn sites across the North American boreal forest, between 1989 and 2014.

“This is one study, in a growing body of evidence, that we’re pushing ecosystems toward these tipping points that we don’t really know what comes next,” Baltzer told Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald.

A study evaluated the cultural safety of indigenous wildland firefighters in Canada

From a recently completed study in Canada:

Funded by Natural Resources Canada, a project provided preliminary data on cultural safety and occupational health and safety that is necessary to improve the understanding of Indigenous perspectives on wildland firefighting and wildland fire operations across what is now called Canada.

Wildland firefighting is a unique occupation. For decades, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) firefighters and fire operations staff have been engaged in wildland fire suppression activities, formally and informally. They are increasingly being called upon by their communities and the broader wildfire management agency community in Canada to engage and deploy in various wildfire suppression and related duties. In the past decade, we have seen an increase in wildfire activity and the number of communities put at risk or impacted by high-intensity wildfire events. Due to the nature of this work, Indigenous Peoples engaged in wildland fire suppression activities routinely work in hazardous situations and stressful environments – impacting their physical, mental, and spiritual/cultural well-being.

Giving Voice to Cultural Safety of Indigenous Wildland Firefighters in Canada was a multidisciplinary, collaborative team-based project.

From January – July 2021, the Turtle Island Consulting Services Inc. (TICS Inc.) Project Team explored the following set of questions:

  • What are Indigenous wildland firefighters’ and wildland fire operations staff’s experiences regarding accident/injury rates, sickness presenteeism/absenteeism, chronic illness, close calls, racism/ discrimination/harassment?
  • What is currently working on the fireline and fire operation centres to promote cultural safety of Indigenous wildland firefighting personnel?
  • What are the priority needs/issues and recommendations for enhancing cultural safety for Indigenous wildland firefighting personnel?

The TICS Inc. Project Team developed an online survey and virtual circles were conducted specifically for individuals who self-identified as Indigenous and worked in wildland firefighting and/or fire operations for at least one fire season in Canada. These participant selection criteria supported the sharing of Indigenous Peoples’ voices in culturally safe spaces to help (i) increase the understanding of their jobs, (ii) enhance overall satisfaction from a cross-cultural perspective during this important work, and (iii) aid in making the future of wildland firefighting more enjoyable, safer, and culturally inviting.

For more information about Project findings, please view the following reports.

The Executive Summary is immediately below. Farther down you can click to download it or view it online .

[pdf-embedder url=”https://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Summary-Giving-Voice-to-Cultural-Safety-of-Indigenous-Wildland-updated-Oct-2021.pdf” title=”Giving Voice to Cultural Safety of Indigenous Wildland Firefighters in Canada”]

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Marty.

Firefighting help arrives from Quebec

Canadian firefighters assist United States
Canadian firefighters arrive in the United States, September 8, 2021. Photo by Jennifer Myslivy, BLM

On Wednesday 40 firefighters from Quebec, Canada arrived in the United States to assist in suppressing wildfires.

In Boise they received an orientation briefing and fire shelter deployment training at the National Interagency Fire Center. The crews have since traveled to the Schneider Springs Fire on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington.

The National Wildfire Preparedness Level has been at 5, the highest level, for nearly two months. Currently, 99 large wildfires are burning across the western U.S., with 57 of them having a strategy of full suppression.

Bird dog crash kills one at Thunder Bay, Ontario

6:05 p.m. EDT August 17, 2021

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry released a statement Tuesday about the crash of the bird dog aircraft at the Thunder Bay airport in Ontario, Canada Monday evening. Below is an excerpt:

“Our Ministry and the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) family is deeply saddened by the loss of a pilot from MAG Aerospace Canada (one of NDMNRF’s long term contract aircraft providers) during a critical incident at the Thunder Bay airport on August 16, 2021.

“The pilot was the sole occupant of a bird dog aircraft – the plane that flies together with the CL-415 waterbombers -and was on route to Dryden for routine maintenance after completing the day of flying for NDMNRF.

“Out of respect and privacy for our staff, our partners at MAG Aerospace Canada and the individual’s family, we are not providing any specific details publicly about the incident at this time. We offer our condolences to all those who have been devastated by this sudden loss of family, friend and loved one.”

10:43 a.m. EDT August 17, 2021

crash Thunder Bay, Ontario airport
Thunder Bay, Ontario airport at 9:10 p.m. Aug. 16, 2021. Still image from video by Winglet520 video.

The crash of a bird dog plane Monday at the Thunder Bay airport in Ontario, Canada killed the pilot, the only person on board.

In Canada a bird dog airplane has responsibility for the direction of air traffic over and in the immediate vicinity of a wildland fire. In addition to the pilot, they often have an Air Attack Officer in the right, or first officer seat.

The aircraft was a Rockwell Aero Commander 690B, C-GYLD, registered to Mag Aerospace Canada Corp. The company specializes in aerial fire services, aerial imagery, and ISR.

A video recorded just after the crash by Winglet520 showed what appeared to be flames spread along a runway. The description said:

Aero Commander taking off runway 07 at CYQT crashed second after getting airborne. Unknown how many on board and if they got out. Video is recorded by me from Mount Mckay scenic lookout about 5km from the accident.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tim and Eric.

Pilot walks away from air tanker crash in New Brunswick

Air tractor aircraft
This aircraft is similar to the one that was involved in the crash. Photo submitted by Forest Protection Limited.

A single engine air tanker crashed August 11 while working on a wildfire near Mount Carleto in New Brunswick, Canada. The pilot, the only person on board, walked away.

From CBC News, by Jennifer Sweet

A New Brunswick pilot in his 50s is lucky to be alive after the water bomber he was flying crashed into a hillside Wednesday August 11 in remote, mountainous terrain in northern New Brunswick.

“It’s a bit of a miracle,” said Steven Hansen, managing director of Forest Protection Ltd., the Fredericton-based company contracted to help the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development fight forest fires. “It’s the best possible outcome from the worst possible scenario,” he said.

Hansen said the pilot is “very experienced” and had been flying for a few hours Wednesday afternoon dumping water and flame retardant on a wildfire.

According to the provincial government’s latest fire activity report, a fire on Old River Road, between the old Heath Steele mine and Mount Carleton, is still out of control.

The plane had just refueled and reloaded with another 800 gallons at the airport in Miramichi and was heading back to the fire when the crash happened, said Hansen.

“There was an unknown issue with the aircraft,” said Jason Hoyt, a spokesperson for DNRE, and the water tanker, identified by Forest Protection Limited as an Air Tractor AT-802F, crashed into the side of a hill at about 4 p.m. “in heavy woods approximately one kilometer from the site of the fire.”

“It’s dangerous work we do,” said Hansen. The terrain was “complex,” he said, and the fire had created turbulence.

It may not be a huge fire, he said, but it was intense.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The national Transportation Safety Board said it has sent a team to look into it.

Forest fire fighters were the first people to get to the scene of the crash, said Hansen.

“They found the pilot climbing out of the wreckage,” said Hoyt.

The pilot was upright, walking and talking, said Hansen.

Both men said the pilot was taken to the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst to be checked over and was released Wednesday night with no major injuries.

Hansen said his company voluntarily grounded its planes following the crash, and is cooperating with the TSB’s investigation.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.

Smoke forecast, 11 pm MDT July 31, 2021

Smoke forecast
Smoke forecast for 11 p.m. MDT July 31, 2021.

For the last couple of days wildfires in Southern British Columbia have been producing large quantities of smoke which has been drifting into Alberta, North-central US, the American Midwest, and points further east. The forecast for Saturday night indicates this trend is continuing.

Clouds have made it difficult for satellites to photograph smoke coming from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon and the Dixie Fire in California.

Satellite photo smoke wildfires British Columbia Montana
Satellite photo showing smoke from fires in BC and Montana at 7:40 p.m. MDT July 30, 2021.