Nova Scotia’s emergency management minister says the province is better prepared going into wildfire season this year with the addition of five contracted aircraft. “We cannot control the weather and cannot eliminate risk entirely,” Kim Masland told reporters. “But what we can control is how we are prepared and today we are even more prepared than we were yesterday.” Masland and Premier Tim Houston were on hand at the Debert air tanker base to show off four Air Tractor AT-802 water bombers and a Cessna Caravan Bird Dog co-ordination plane that the province contracted from New Brunswick-based Forest Protection Ltd. The $6.5-million contract runs until the end of September, with the ability to be extended, and includes pilots and operational staff, as well as housing and maintenance for the planes. …The money for the contract is part of $6.8 million announced earlier this year…

See photo gallery in Government of Nova Scotia release: Province Contracts Water Bombers for Wildfire Season