Conair Fire Boss Skimmer (image credit - CFJC Today)
WILDFIRE AIR RESOURCES

Back from prairie deployment, skimmers are standing by in Kamloops – along with Conair’s newest toy

Jun 18, 2025 | 4:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — After a two-week stretch out in Saskatchewan around the end of May, the BC Wildfire Service’s Conair Fire Boss skimmers have returned to Kamloops and the wildfire base at the airport. During their run in the prairies, skimmer pilots were hitting fires up to 25 times per mission, circling from a nearby lake. Now back in Kamloops, the pilots are gearing up for the summer heat while assisting on fires further north in the province.

The six skimmers in Kamloops are part of a 14-aircraft fleet fighting wildfires across British Columbia. While attacking a wildfire, the skimmers can drop around 5,000 pounds of water per run, making piloting the small aircrafts no easy feat.

“You have to get down onto the water and then get it stabilized and then you drop the scoops down which brings in approximately 50 gallons — 250 litres — per second. That is a lot of change that the plan is experiencing, both hydrodynamically plus the weight of the plane, so it just changes it second by second,” said BCWS Conair Fire Boss skimmer pilot Kent Willner.

Helping guide skimmers and RJ air tankers is always a bird dog, and this year, Conair has brought its newest toy to Kamloops replacing turbo commanders from the early 1970s.

“For a bird dog, it’s really important that it be able to fly quickly, and this is the fastest bird dog that has ever existed anywhere in the world. But even more important than being able to fly quickly is you have to be able to fly slowly, because when you are overhead of the fires you slow everything down, fly at the same speed as the air tankers. It’s really exciting to be able to modernize the bird dog fleet,” said Michael Benson, director of business development with Conair.

TBM 960 Bird Dog in Kamloops (image credit – CFJC Today)

The TBM 960 Bird Dog in Kamloops is one of two in B.C., not only marking a first in the province but Canada and the world.

“They are getting there quicker, so you are able to develop your strategy quicker, you are able to contain the fire quicker than you would before. That means less money on damages, less money spent on trying to contain a fire and less risk exposure for everyone,” said Benson.

In addition to sheer power, new technology in the plane is allowing advancements in how BC Wildfire fights fires.

“They go and they check every single run they want the air tankers to fly to make sure it’s safe. As well, they develop the entire fire attack strategy for the aerial firefighting resources,” said Benson. “They will go down, low level, fly every run at approximately 150 feet above terrain, so it’s low and there aren’t very big margins for error there. Having a very modern, high performing airplane is a phenomenal asset to have.”

While fire activity around the Kamloops region has be calm so far this year, the crew stands ready to fight fires in every corner of the province if needed.

“Generally it’s within an hour of the call, half an hour of the call, or immediately, just depending on the conditions,” said Willner. “Today, we are on an hour callout from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and then from 2:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. we are on half an hour. And that can change in one email, and all of a sudden we are on red and we are out of here.”

That alert status put to the test on Wednesday (June 18) morning, with the skimmer team responding quickly out to the Cariboo to attack the Tatla Lake blaze.