Alberta plane crash site difficult to reach due to wildfire

Police say wildfire conditions at the scene ofthe crash of a firefighting plane in northern Alberta are making it
difficult for investigators to reach the site.

Mounties say the site is inside the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range,an area used by military pilots for weapons training.

RCMP Cpl. Mike Dunsmore said the military and search-and-rescuepersonnel escorted police into the crash site late Friday and helpedrecover the body of the 38-year-old civilian pilot, who was the soleoccupant of the aircraft.

But Dunsmore said the fire, which the province reported Saturdayhas grown to 40 square kilometres since it started a day earlier, ismaking it challenging for Transportation Safety Board investigatorsto safely enter the area.

Crews in northern Alberta have been fighting wildfires for morethan a week, and warm and dry conditions have increased the firehazard to high or extreme in some areas.

The pilot who was killed worked for Conair Aerial Firefighting,and he and the plane were contracted by the Alberta government.

"First responders like this pilot, and our many other dedicatedwildland firefighters, put their lives on the line every day toensure that our homes and families are safe," incoming premierRachel Notley said in a statement that offered her condolences tothe pilot's family, friends and colleagues.

"We owe them our most sincere gratitude. Even as they mourn theloss of one of their own, I know they will continue fighting themany fires burning within our borders."

Jeff Barry of Conair Aerial Firefighting said the pilot was inhis fourth firefighting season with the company.

"We've sent our accident investigation team and we'll beco-operating with the Transportation Safety Board and the AlbertaESRD (Environment and Sustainable Resource Development) folks willbe there as well," Barry said Friday.

Barry said the plane was a single-seater Air Tractor 802, knownin the company as the "Fire Boss." The company's website said theamphibious plane is used to scoop up water from lakes or deliverfire retardant.

Unexploded ordinance on range not a danger

Police said in a news release on Saturday that the crash scenehas been secured.

Lee said the crash investigation was still in the early stagesand he couldn't speculate on the cause.

Lt. Mathew Strong, a public affairs officer at CFB Cold Lake,said unexploded ordinance won't be an issue for investigators.

"They're basically hunks of concrete that we drop from theaircraft for target practice," Strong said about the bombs, notingthe live weapons range is a smaller area that's northeast of thefire.

He added that military crews track both live and non-live weaponsfor disposal.

Strong said a part of the range, the Primrose Lake EvaluationRange, was evacuated on Friday as a precaution due to the fire, butthat the flames appear to be tracking away from the area. He saidthere were, however, some privately operated oil and gas facilitieson the range that could still be in danger.

Cenovus Energy said in a news release on Saturday that it hasremoved 1,700 staff at its operation at Foster Creek due to thefire.It said the fire was about 30 kilometres away, but there was arisk the fire might close the main road to the operation.

It said Foster Creek is still running with about 100 essentialstaff members to maintain safe operations, but it added there areevacuation plans if the threat of the fire increases.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said it has removed workers fromits Primrose operations and temporarily shut down its crude oilproduction there.

Notley has appealed to residents to respect the fire restrictionsthat are now in place in the province.