Manitoba beefs up its forest-fighting fleet

Manitoba will upgrade its forest-fighting fleet with a Cdn$1.4-million investment in advanced avionics.
The fleet consists of seven water bombers and will be enhanced with vision systems for pilots to help them battle fires when visibility is low, said Stan Struthers, Manitoba’s conservation minister.
“This is key. It will increase our efficiency and make sure our crews are safe while they are getting the job done,” he said.
As of June 25, Manitoba Conservation’s Fire Program has recorded 115 fires in 2009, despite wet and cool conditions earlier this year. Human beings caused 63 of these fires, a Manitoba government release says.
Manitoba Conservation now has a total of 294 firefighters and six contract helicopters, in addition to the seven water bombers, to battle forest fires.
While the vast majority — roughly 97% — of forest fires in Canada are contained to less than 200 hectares, the largest insured loss to date from a Canadian wildland fire was Cdn$200 million from the 2003 Kelowna wildfire, according to information from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).
But the area burned in Canada has been increasing, the ICLR says, reflecting a build-up in fuels and a shift to older forests due to decades of fire suppression and fire exclusion near populated areas.