Army, giant helicopter coming in to fight Saskatchewan wildfires

By early eveningMonday, 500 Canadian Armed Forces members are expected to be innorthern Saskatchewan, getting prepped tofight wildfires in the province'snorth.

The wildfires cover an area that is 10 times larger than forest fires inprevious years. As the need to fight fires escalates,the government has requested that troops be brought in to help.

The first 500 soldiersrepresent the immediate response team, while900 more will be available if needed, according to the Department of National Defence.

All members will be trained bySaskatchewan's wildfire management branch.The training for the first 500 members is expected to last 24 to 36 hours, at which point, the immediate responseteam will be in the thick of it, fighting the blazes.

Brig.-Gen. WayneEyresaid the troops will work mostly around the LaRongearea, patrolling and putting out hot spots.

"The last time we've done a forest fire to this extent was 2003 in B.C.," saidEyre, who is commander of Joint Task Force West and the3rd Canadian Division.

Eyresaid troops will be moving around in light armoured vehicles foroff-roadmobility.

All of the troops involved are regular military members, but reservists could be called in to be on standby,Eyresaid.

Steve Roberts, director of Wildfire Management with the Ministry of the Environment, saidone of the biggest areas of concernis the Egg Lake fire north of LaRonge.

North America's biggest helicopter to pitch in

By midday Monday, a SikorskyS-64 Skycranehelicopter had landed in Swift Current, halfway on its route to Prince Albert to help battle the wildfires.

Premier Brad Wall said it has the capacity of awaterbomberwith the agility of a helicopter.

Provincial government officials said it can drop at least 1,000 gallons, or 3,785 litres, of flame-suppressantmaterial and be more accurate than airplane tankers.

The large-scale chopper joins a fleet of 50 choppers already deployed in the north.

Mike Gilpin,chief pilot with Helicopter Transport Services Inc., the owner of the chopper, said the large aircraft is approximately 27 metreslong, 22 metreswide and 7.5metrestall.

"We're capableof picking up about (9,085litres) of water and taking it to the fire," he said.

"It takes about 60 seconds to fill the tank, and then we're off to the fire," Gilpin confirmed.

Fully fuelled, the chopper can do between 20 and 25 water drops in an hour, allowing it work for two hours straight before needing to berefueled, the pilot confirmed.

Gilpin predicted the manoeuvrability of the chopper would make it easier for pilots to navigate through poor visibility and smokyconditions, hopefully making drop work more efficient.