May 30, 2001
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A CL-415 Bomber loads up on Canonto Lake on the afternoon of May 1, 2001
Bird Dogs, Bombers, and Community Spirit
by Helen Forsey
The call came in on the Palmerston-Canonto fire phone around 12.30 on that hot, dry Tuesday afternoon at the beginning of May. "There's a bush fire along the access road to Redhorse," the caller reported. "Looks pretty big..."
Within half an hour, two dozen fire fighters from Ompah, Plevna, and Snow Road were on the scene, establishing a base of operations beside Redhorse Lake and scouting the spread of the fire. It had been burning for some time, already covering an estimated 20 hectares, and it was clear that more help was needed.
From the Ompah Fire Hall, Claire Ladouceur was managing communications, in constant radio contact with Deputy Chief John Hawe at the fire scene. Two pumps in the lake were pumping water through more than 5,000 feet of heavy hose which the firefighters had to drag through the bush to the edge of the fire. Soon MNR's Carl Tooley, of Plevna, was up in a Ministry helicopter, bringing in personnel and equipment and coordinating the work crews. Then they called in the "Bird Dog" and the water bombers.
The "Bird Dog" is a small plane that flies above the fire scene and ensures that the water bombing goes smoothly and safely. The heavy CL 415 water bombers carry 1450 gallons of water, which they drop near the head of the fire. These planes were flown in from Muskoka, and took turns working the fire and flying up to Pembroke to refuel.
Watching the water bombers load up was the most excitement Canonto Lake had seen in a good while. As the plane skims the surface of the lake, the water forces open a door in the bottom and fills the belly of the plane. Then it lifts off, flies up to the fire scene, and drops those tons of water on the burning forest.
The bomber's drop zone is 1200 feet long and 350 feet wide, with about half the water failing on the flames and the other half on what's not yet burning. "The idea is to knock the fire to the ground and hold it," says Carl Tooley. Of course, the safety of the fire crews on the ground is top priority. A water drop can uproot big trees, and a person would be killed instantly. That's why the Bird Dog's job is so important, coordinating and communicating to make sure that everybody on the ground is safely out of the way.
Back in Ompah, at the Community Centre, another vital part of the operation was under way as Elsie Black, Leta Kirkwood, and Christine
McMurdoch put together food and water for the thirsty crews. "We'd been just about to leave for our Golden Friendship Club meeting when we heard the call," Elsie said. " So Joe took off to the fire, and I got busy making sandwiches."
Bread, fillings and lots of bottled water were supplied by the Double S Marina and other community people. Then the food, water, and oil and gas for the pumps had to be ferried up to the site. Emergency First Response Team members took in supplies, and attended to two firefighters who became ill. With all the different systems, formal and informal, working together, practically the whole community was involved in the success of the operation.
"The three Fire Departments did an excellent job," Carl Tooley said. "We heard nothing but praise from the MNR crews that worked with them." Our firefighters were on the scene until evening, and some returned the next day, accumulating a total of 216 person-hours on one of the largest fires in our area in several years.
More than a week later, the last of the MNR crews were finally able to leave. The fire had burned 34 hectares of forest, mainly white pine. The Ministry may authorize a salvage cut of the wood that is left. Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.