Re: “Martin Mars water bomber grounded,” Sept. 14.
The grounding of the Mars water bomber is an emotional pinch for the people of Port Alberni.
In 1967, I was a 19-year-old logger fighting the Taylor River forest fire when both bombers flew right over our heads at the 3,500-foot level on a hillside above Sproat Lake. The ground shook as they dumped their water load and went off to scoop more water from the lake. They were massive, powerful, impressive and needed.
With my family a few years later, I drove west up Sutton Pass when both Mars water bombers roared overhead for a drop on an inaccessible mountaintop fire above the pass.
Ukee Days Summer Fair in Ucluelet, my home town, always enjoyed a demonstration water-drop from the Mars. During the Save Clayoquot Sound anti-logging protest in 1993, it warmed the loggers’ hearts to have the demonstration Mars visit on the Support the Loggers Day.
I always go out on my deck to watch when a bomber flies low over the town on its way out to a fire or returning to home base. A recent cruise ship visit to Port Alberni was treated to a water-drop demonstration beside the ship in the harbour. These planes have value to this community and the economy of the province.
Bruce E. Hornidge
Port Alberni
