N.L. government commits to repairing 5th water bomber 7 years after grounding

Jenna Head · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 10:58 AM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

All of Newfoundland and Labrador's 5 h2o bombers volition beryllium successful work for the 2026-27 wildfire season, promises the provincial government.

On Wednesday the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure announced a $14.8-million declaration has been awarded to craft shaper De Havilland Aircraft of Canada to repair the province's 5th CL-415 h2o bomber.

The h2o bomber has been retired of work since 2018, erstwhile it deed a stone successful a water connected the Burin Peninsula, causing important structural damage. 

The multi-million dollar declaration volition code the structural repairs and attraction required truthful that the h2o bomber tin instrumentality to the fleet adjacent year. PAL Aerospace, a subcontractor for De Havilland, volition repair the craft successful the province.

"Returning this craft to our provincial fleet, on with our committedness for a caller Atlantic Wildfire Centre, volition further heighten our province's wildfire firefighting capacity," Transportation Minister Fred Hutton said successful a statement issued connected Wednesday.

Wildfire play approaching

This summertime volition people the seventh wildfire play that Newfoundland and Labrador has operated without its afloat fleet of h2o bombers.

More than 80 wildfires took spot crossed the state successful 2024, with Labrador bearing the brunt.

Churchill Falls and Labrador City faced evacuation orders successful June and July. that forced thousands of radical to fly their homes. Firefighters were brought successful from New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario to assistance suppress the fires, including utilizing a vertebrate canine aircraft, a benignant of level that leads a fleet of h2o bombers, flown by a aviator and an aerial onslaught officer.

Bird dogs power the aerial postulation successful a occurrence portion and tin pinpoint the champion country to driblet h2o by flying 100 to 1,000 feet supra it. Quebec and Ontario person systematically utilized vertebrate canine craft to coordinate h2o bomber operations since the 1980s.

In September Premier Andrew Furey said the state volition get a vertebrate dog in the future.

"We've already committed to a vertebrate dog. I'm not definite precisely wherever that is successful the timeline, but we person committed to procuring a vertebrate dog," Furey told reporters.

Integrated facilities successful Labrador

Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown has advocated for the restoration of the province's 5th h2o bomber for years.

In erstwhile interviews helium says helium wants to spot a h2o bomber stationed successful Labrador West, contempt the province's absorption connected gathering a caller Wildfire Centre successful Gander.

"We had Churchill Falls evacuated, we had Labrador City evacuated… In each azygous 1 of those cases for wood firefighting, we had to telephone upon different provinces to travel and assistance us," Brown told CBC News successful September.

"Obviously, we aren't prepared to combat a fire."

In the connection released connected Wednesday, Forestry Minister Gerry Byrne says the Wildfire Centre volition person integrated facilities successful Labrador.

"We person taken the pb to found a world-class Atlantic Wildfire Centre with integrated facilities successful Labrador to heighten efforts to support Atlantic Canada's forests," helium said.

PC forestry critic Pleaman Forsey is criticizing the state implicit delays to repairing the h2o bomber, saying the Liberal authorities spent to overmuch clip "flip-flopping" betwixt considering fixing and selling the aircraft.

"The Liberals person failed to instrumentality enactment to hole this craft and present the state is facing different occurrence play without capable resources," Forsey said successful a statement.

"Why did it instrumentality 7 years for the Liberals to recognize the value of repairing the h2o bomber and returning it to service?"

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