B.C. Conservative interim leader Doerkson promises to buy firefighting water bombers

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Conservatives are promising to spend half a billion dollars on a fleet of Crown-owned water bombers and cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, to fight the growing threat of wildfires, if the party is elected on Oct. 24.

Interim party leader Lorne Doerkson says the proposed plane purchase and the innovation fund are part of a larger plan to improve the response to wildfire through more on-the-ground prevention and less bureaucracy.

He made the announcement in front of a rural property that burned down last month during the Bald Range wildfire, which destroyed more than 80 homes in Faulder, B.C., and forced thousands of people to flee from nearby Summerland.

Doerkson, who spoke next to property owner Joel Patan and local Conservative candidate Tracy St. Claire, says having a provincial fleet will ultimately save money, given the escalating costs of fighting fires.