Months before the first summer wildfire breaks out, crews at the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) air base in La Ronge are already preparing for the season ahead. Inside the hangar, maintenance staff climb onto water bombers nearly 30 feet tall to inspect and repair the planes. Off-season maintenance is critical to keeping pilots safe during high-risk operations, said Audrey Wishlow, the agency’s director of safety and assistant operations manager. “Airlines are lucky,” she said. “Their critical phase of flight is takeoff and landing. For us, we’re always in the critical phase because we’re flying low and fast to the ground with reduced visibility.” One of the planes designed for those conditions is the newest addition to the fleet, a Q400 land-based air tanker. It’s a former commercial propeller plane converted for firefighting, capable of carrying 12,000 litres of fire retardant. Inside, the cabin is fully stripped, with no padding, no seats and no overhead bins. The plane remains pressurized for high-altitude flight, while wiring is left accessible for maintenance work. “It’s completely gutted to be as light as possible,” said Jean-Denis Faubert, the agency’s chief aircraft maintenance engineer, during a tour of the hangar. Although new to the fleet, Faubert said the aircraft requires monthly inspections, with crews checking for cracks and opening exterior panels. He compared the process to lifting the hood of a car to make sure everything is in working order. The plane is expected to require about 800 hours of maintenance this year, he said. Nearby is the CL-215T amphibious air tanker, commonly known as a water bomber. The bottom of the plane is shaped like a large float, with smaller floats on each wing, allowing it to land on water, while retractable wheels allow it to land on a runway. Also beneath the plane are two small scoops that, when the plane touches down on water, can collect about 1,200 imperial gallons, or roughly 4,500 litres, of water in nine seconds. Faubert said Saskatchewan crews can make up to 90 water drops on a busy day, one of the highest daily totals in the world. “The lakes are close and long enough and deep enough that we can do quick rotations,” he said, noting that crews in other areas may have to fly for hours to reach a suitable water source. Inside the plane, a silver tank holds foam that is mixed into the water before a drop. With the push of a button, pilots inject the foam into the water tanks, helping reduce evaporation when the water is released. Preparations for wildfire season begin as soon as the previous season ends, said Peter Boniface, executive director of air operations. “Our intention through the wintertime is to try get as much done on the airplane as we can so we don’t have any major maintenance activities during the fire season,” Boniface said. “Obviously things break, so sometimes there’s a little bit more work to do.” He said work ramps up from late January through March as the agency brings seasonal staff back, with refresher training and new courses scheduled for March and April. Challenges of 2025 The 2025 wildfire season was the second worst in Canadian history, according to the federal government. More than 6,000 fires burned across nearly every province and territory, and about 500 were recorded in Saskatchewan, forcing thousands from their homes. Boniface said one of the biggest challenges came when the Pisew fire destroyed the communications building at the La Ronge airport, a key northern air tanker base, early in the season. He said airplanes had to be moved as the base burned and crews were forced to work from unfamiliar locations. The loss of records and equipment complicated operations, while many staff were also worried about their own evacuated families. “A lot of the maintenance team were actually living in the hangar here for a couple of days because they couldn’t be at home,” he said. Despite the disruption, flights resumed the next day. “Our team pulled it together and we were flying missions the next day,” Boniface said. He said another challenge is a global shortage of experienced pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians. At one point, staffing levels were down about 30 per cent because of illness and vacancies, though positions have since been filled. Boniface said shortages are expected to continue as workers retire. Responding to criticism Last year, the provincial government and the SPSA faced widespread criticism when four firefighting planes were unavailable during the height of fire season. At the time, the province said mandatory inspections caused two of the six CL-215Ts (waterbombers) to be unavailable for five days of the season, while another was out for the entire season due to “extensive structural inspections and repairs.” While two of the three of its CV580s (land-based air tankers) were grounded at one time due to unavailable parts and necessary maintenance. Boniface said airplane repairs can be lengthy because parts are often not readily available. “Some parts had to be manufactured for us,” he said. “They weren’t available immediately.” Structural repairs also require consultation with manufacturers and repeated design adjustments before planes can return to service, he said. Another concern involved the new Q400 tanker, which was not used during the early part of the wildfire season. Boniface said pilots completed preliminary training, but no one was available to certify them. “We needed an external pilot with the experience to be able to come and provide the training for us, but because of the busyness of the fire season across Canada, none of those pilots were available,” he said. He said Transport Canada also requires certain in-house demonstrations before final approval. “The airplane arrived literally the weekend before the town of La Ronge was evacuated. And so, no, we couldn’t bring anybody up to come and take a look at things,” he said. Lessons learned Looking ahead, Wishlow said the agency is improving communication and airspace control procedures to manage heavy traffic from helicopters, spotter planes and air tankers. Meanwhile, Boniface said additional maintenance teams have been contracted, and one plane has been sent to Calgary for third-party repairs. He also said more simulator training is planned, reducing training time in the air and allowing planes to return to service sooner. After last season’s challenges, he said the focus this winter is on preparation, training and making sure crews are ready for the season ahead.
