Northern fires slowing down

A forest fire 20 kilometres northeast of Old Crow will be out soon, and much of the credit goes to the Yukon Forest Services’ two new $7-million CL-215 water bombers, says duty officer Keith Kepke.

"We expect to be demanning that one by Saturday," Kepke said, "It didn’t grow at all from when we first put the crews on it."

The fire, started by lightning July 20, has devoured about 30 hectares of muskeg and black spruce. About 30 men are fighting it, including 21 locals and four contract smoke jumpers.

This is the first time the firefighters have used the new water bombers together in the Yukon. The two Yukon water bombers were part of a national fleet purchased by the former Liberal government in Ottawa. One arrived at the end of the last season and one arrived this year. But they were in southern Canada for the early part of the fire season because of cool weather here.

Kepke said the airplanes are perfectly suited for use in Old Crow because of their ability to scoop water from lakes that are plentiful in the area. (They aren’t as useful elsewhere in the Yukon where lakes are not as easy to find). The only problem is that they are not certified to land on gravel runways, so had to go to Inuvik for fuel. Only two Yukon airports – Whitehorse and Watson Lake – can be used by the amphibious aircraft.

"When the manufacturers built them, they never went through the testing procedures for gravel. They do various testing procedures then are certified for certain airstrips," he said.

Because the aircraft are mostly used in Eastern Canada and Europe where most runways are paved, Kepke said it is not really odd that they are not certified for gravel. "The Yukon is kind of the last bastion of gravel runways," he said.

Using the scoop method, the CL-215s can fill with water in 10 seconds. To scoop up water, they need lakes only two to three metres and a 1,600 metres long. Kepke said they were very efficient in Old Crow because all the lakes in the area meant there was water available close to the fire, allowing a rapid to-and-fro shuttle. In comparison, the two contract A-26 Second World War aircraft that round out the Yukon bomber fleet must return to an airport to reload, but can use the strips all over the Yukon.

"They (the CL-215’s) were good for two and a half to three hours, then we’d have to go to Inuvik for fuel," he said, "If we used the other ones (A-26s), we’d have had to go to Inuvik and get retardant after each drop."

While the A-26 bombers are faster than the other bombers, the CL-215s are more efficient in lake country.

"We’ve flown over 150 hours with them so far this year and they seem to be performing fine," Kepke said. The bombers were on load to southern Manitoba in the spring.

Forest Services is still not fighting the 60,000 hectare fire south of Fort McPherson, N.W.T. The leading edge of that remote Yukon fire is about 15 kilometres from the Yukon-N.W.T. border. Kepke said it has not grown any larger. Weather in the area is still cloudy with scattered showers, and the fire is expected to remain damped down.