Update July 8, 6:15 p.m.: The Ministry of Forests has confirmed a one-month agreement to use the Martin Mars water bomber has been reached with the Coulson Group. The company is currently preparing the air tanker to fly, and the Forestry Minister Steve Thomson said he expects it will be ready to use this weekend. The plane will remain stationed at Sproat Lake, near Port Alberni, where a wildfire is burning on nearby Dog Mountain.
Original story: B.C.’s forestry minister cleared up some uncertainty surrounding the use of the idle Martin Mars water bomber Tuesday, but it remains to be seen whether the world-renowned aircraft will fight fires in the province this season.
A contract is in place between the Coulson Group, the company that owns the massive air tanker, and the B.C. government, Steve Thomson confirmed in a news conference Tuesday.
“The issues have been around whether it is an efficient use of our resources,” the minister said. “Under the circumstances, we made the decision that we want to have a contract in place to be able to utilize that resource when it’s appropriate.”
He said that the decision to fly the Mars will be left to professionals in the field.
When contacted by CTV News, B.C.’s chief fire information officer said there are no specific plans in place to use the aircraft yet.
Coulson Group CEO Wayne Coulson said the plane was moved into Sproat Lake Tuesday morning as crews prepared the bomber purely on speculation that it will be used. He said if required, it could be ready to fight fires by Thursday.
“We’ll spend about $100,000 over the next few days getting this aircraft ready for service and then of course it’s up to the province whether they require it or not,” he said.
Public pressure has been mounting as the Mars sat idle on the shores of Sproat Lake for days while a large wildfire burned on Dog Mountain just kilometres away.
A Change.org petition to return the bomber to service in B.C. had reached more than 20,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
When it was last contracted in 2013, the Mars bomber cost the province about $670,000 per season while on standby, and $4,000 per hour when it was in use, according to the Ministry of Forests. It was only deployed to 20 wildfires between 2007 and 2013.
The four replacement Fire Boss skimmers carry about 3,000 litres of water each and are contracted for $2.5 million per season plus a combined hourly use rate of $2,000.
There are 16 air tankers currently operating in the province and two more coming in from Ontario Tuesday night, along with 70 personnel to aid in the fight against the 184 wildfires now burning in B.C.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Rob Buffam and files from CTV Vancouver
