Nova Scotia’s natural resources minister says contracting water bombers will likely remain part of the province’s long-term wildfire strategy as climate change continues driving more frequent and intense fire seasons.
The comments from Kim Masland come after the province officially unveiled its new fleet of contracted firefighting aircraft last week.
The fleet includes four Air Tractor AT-802 water bombers and a Bird Dog co-ordination aircraft based in Debert.
Speaking with our newsroom Thursday, Masland said purchasing larger traditional water bombers outright is currently unrealistic for Nova Scotia.
“The 415s are not being made anymore,” she said. “They’re making the 515s and the factory to build the 515s has not even been built yet.”
Masland added the first 35 new aircraft have already been committed to the European Union.
“It’ll be years and years out before we could ever be able to purchase one ourselves,” she said.
The province instead signed a contract with Forest Protection Ltd. that includes the aircraft, pilots, maintenance crews and storage.
Masland suggested the arrangement could evolve into a long-term partnership.
“Do I think this will be a longer contract? Absolutely,” she said. “I think this is the beginning of a relationship that we’ll have for quite some time.”
She said the province is also discussing possible long-term arrangements with New Brunswick and Forest Protection Limited.
The minister said the increasing frequency of wildfires in Nova Scotia has changed how the province prepares for summer.
“The storms and the drought and the conditions that we used to think were one-offs — now they’re not,” Masland said in discussing wildfire conditions earlier in the interview.
“We’re responding to wildfires more often than we want to, and we need to make sure we’re prepared.”
Nova Scotia has also invested in upgrades to wildfire equipment and helicopters following several major fire seasons, including the 2023 wildfires and the Long Lake fire last year where one provincial helicopter was lost.
