Health regulations brought in to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to changes in the way aviators in Saskatchewan are preparing for the upcoming wildfire season.
Peter Boniface is the director of air operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. He says changes started a few weeks ago when warnings about COVID-19 first came out.
“Our aircraft maintenance personnel — we split them into shifts so we would reduce the number of people that would be coming in and out of the building,” said Boniface.
All of the administration staff that could work from home are doing that.
Ground training for pilots is usually held in one large gathering in Prince Albert. This year, it was divided into small groups and some of the pilots participated in the sessions via the internet.
So far this spring, eight pilots have been training in the Convair tanker aircraft, along with a number of bird dog pilots.
Boniface says another 12-15 pilots will commence training in La Ronge this weekend.
The CL-215T aircraft will become active once the ice is off the northern lakes.
(PHOTO: A Convair 580A air tanker. Photo courtesy of David Smith.)