Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s government, already under attack for failing to help wildfire evacuees, faced questions Wednesday over why almost half of its water bomber fleet was grounded while blazes forced thousands to flee.
Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck released flight data that she said indicated four of 10 tankers had been grounded for almost a year — and this is on top of a new water bomber that the province hasn’t used due to a lack of pilots.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that nearly half our water bombers were sitting idle,” Beck said in a news release. “We need a government that’s focused on the future, and that includes protecting our communities as best we can.”
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, in a statement, said four aircraft had been grounded for various reasons, including inspections, repairs and a lack of parts. It said it expected one of the planes to be operational by the end of June.
Later Wednesday, the agency’s Marlo Pritchard told a news conference crews had what they needed to fight the fires without the four planes.
Saskatchewan brought in two aircraft from Quebec, two from Alaska and five from B.C., he said.
“This is not a secret issue,” Pritchard said. “There is no way of fast-tracking safety when we’re talking about airplanes.”
He added there has been a national shortage of experienced aircraft maintenance engineers.
Asked about the water bombers at an unrelated news conference, Moe echoed Pritchard’s remarks that the province is dealing with maintenance lags and shortages of skilled staff.
“They’re doing their level best,” Moe said.
Saskatchewan has been experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in recent years. The blazes forced more than 10,000 residents from their homes, although many were allowed to start returning last week.
Pritchard said 277 homes, 60 cabins and 115 recreational vehicles were destroyed by the fires. In the hardest hit village of Denare Beach, near the Manitoba boundary, 218 primary residences were lost.
Earlier this week, the province said a new water bomber it received in late May was not used because there were no trained pilots to fly it. The plane was grounded at an air base in La Ronge.
Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod has said pilots started training on the plane but had to change course and fight the fires.
Moe also has been criticized for failing to provide timely assistance to evacuees.
Last week, ombudsman Sharon Pratchler said the province failed to provide immediate food, shelter and basic information to evacuees. She said some were told they’d receive callbacks in four days, leaving some to sleep in cars.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has said there were backlogs in the system, which have since been cleared. Moe also has promised adult evacuees one-time emergency support payments of $500.
Pritchard said $1.8 million has been sent to communities to deliver the payouts.
The agency reported 17 active wildfires, including four that were not contained. It said five communities remain evacuated and a fire ban for the northern part of the province has been rescinded.
Just east of Saskatchewan, the province of Manitoba reported there were 21 active wildfires Wednesday and several communities remained evacuated, including the city of Flin Flon, home to 5,000 people.
Residents of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, Lynn Lake and some smaller communities were also waiting for word on when they might return.
Recent cool weather allowed constraints to be lifted in some provincial parks.
Fire and travel restrictions were lifted in more than 30 provincial parks, including Birds Hill, Pembina Valley and Winnipeg Beach.
In other parks, where the risk of fire remains higher, motorized backcountry travel continued to be banned and provincial burning permits were still cancelled, but rules were loosened to allow campfires during the overnight hours.
Several other parks remained closed to all users.
— with files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg
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