With the winter weather finally breaking, the look onto the summer season is in full force for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA)
Steve Roberts, vice president of operations for the SPSA says 2024 was a busy season in terms of pure numbers of wildfires.
“For numbers of fires, it was the second largest but not in total area burned over the last 10 years. Last year at this time, we already had 34 fires in our books. Right now, we’re only looking at 23 so far this season.”
Because of warmer than average temperatures during the fall, the amount of frost in certain parts of the province is below average compared to previous years. As a result, the soil has absorbed a lot of runoff preventing most spring flooding.
In terms of the wildfire season, Roberts says that should lead to a slower start earlier on.
“We have anticipated, because of the over winter conditions, a normal start. We did not have to recall our crews early, (but) they are available. We expect to see a slight reprieve from last year for the spring conditions but once we get out summer weather, it’ll really determine how much precipitation and holding capacity we actually have in the soils. We would expect an average season based on the long term forecast.”
In April 2024, it was announced that the provincial government had purchased two Dash 8-Q400AT models and two Dash 8-Q400MRE models for the SPSA at an approximate cost of $187.06 million. The aircraft will replace the current fleet of four Convair 580 aircraft that are expected to reach the end of their service life in 2027.
Roberts says the SPSA is expecting delivery of the first new aircraft shortly.
“Progress has gone very well. We look to receive the first of those four air tanks likely next month. It will go into training our staff and then become operational throughout the summer. Making sure that our crews are well versed in using this aircraft as the second, third and fourth come online between now and 2027.”
Over the winter, Roberts says the SPSA has been able to get pilots access to simulators based on the new aircraft.
“These planes are faster. They actually carry more retardant, but functionally they’re not dissimilar from the planes we apply now in that operational stance. Because it’s a more modern aircraft, we have access to more top notch motion simulators. We’ve already had our staff over the winter engaging in doing simulator training. Once it arrives, we will have certified training pilots that will work with our pilots and copilots to ensure that they are operating these aircraft efficiently and within the safety boundaries. They will be gradually introduced as an operational component of our fleet.”
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
