File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Get ready for a huge investment to fight wildfires

Jun 30, 2023 | 6:00 AM

EVERY TIME I LOOK INTO THE SKY and see the aging fleet of air tankers taking off and landing at Fulton Field, I wonder how long we can keep those planes in the air. Probably not too long.

As climate change plays a larger role in the length and intensity of the wildfire season, these planes, and the many other resources used to fight the fires, are being taxed more and more.

And it will only get worse. Coupled with the fact that we don’t have any solid plans going forward, it becomes clear that the costs will balloon out of sight pretty quickly.

First of all, let’s talk about the aircraft. Most of our aircraft were built decades ago and are getting harder to maintain. A report from CBC this week indicated that the number of planes available across the country varies between 60 and 100, depending which expert you talk to. In the past, provinces have shared the aircraft, depending on the area of greatest need. But when we get a situation like this year, when huge fires are burning across the country, provinces don’t have those resources to share.

There’s no doubt we need more planes, not only to replace the aging current fleet, but more planes to add to the fleet. Each of those planes costs tens of millions of dollars. Canadair makes the most functional plane it would appear, but we haven’t ordered any, and there’s a lineup. The CBC report indicates that if we ordered planes today, we wouldn’t see them until at least the end of the decade. Meantime, the number and size of the fires will increase significantly.

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And where do helicopters fit in? The choppers fit nicely into long-range plans, being able to take smaller amounts of water from nearby lakes and rivers, making a quick and sustained attack. How do they fit in? Can we make them more efficient in any way? Are we looking into this at all? No one seems to know.

The matter of firefighters on the ground is already being looked at, but we need to increase the numbers drastically and build a much larger contingent of well-trained men and women with the resources necessary to aid them in their battles.

We don’t know what the costs are in the long run, but until we figure it out and get a plan in place, we will lose increasing amounts of timber, homes and maybe even lives.

Time to get off the pot and get on with the challenge.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.