Thousands gathered at Patricia Bay Park on Vancouver Island north of Victoria on Sunday to witness the final landing of the historic Hawaii Martin Mars, a legendary aircraft that fought wildfires in B.C. for more than 50 years.

The massive aircraft, with a capacity to carry more than 27,000 litres of water, departed from its longtime base at Sproat Lake in Port Alberni and landed in Saanich Inlet, before heading to its new home at the B.C. Aviation Museum.

Nine Canadian Forces Snowbirds jets also accompanied the water bomber in its last journey, passing over a number of communities en route to its final destination. 

The Snowbirds bid farewell to the well known aircraft with a non-aerobatic display, drawing cheers from onlookers below.

“It’s kind of sad that it’s the end of the story,” said Peter Killin, a longtime pilot who flew the Hawaii Martin Mars’ for the last time, along with Harbour Air’s Rick Matthews on Sunday. 

Killin, who has logged more than 1,000 hours of flying time with the water bomber, said he was introduced to the aircraft back in 2000 by Matthews and was then hired a year later to pilot the Mars and help fight forest fires. 

“It’s a new chapter coming [for the aircraft]…it’s going to be good, people will get to see it.” he added.

Preserving history for future

Earlier this year, Coulson Aviation, the company that purchased the Hawaii Martin Mars in 2007, announced it is donating the aircraft to the B.C. Aviation Museum, calling it a “grand ending to a great history.”

“It’s bittersweet to say goodbye,” Wayne Coulson, CEO of Coulson Aviation told CBC News.

WATCH | Iconic Martin Mars water bomber set to arrive at B.C. museum:

Iconic Martin Mars water bomber set to arrive at B.C. museum

Richard Mosdell from the B.C. Aviation Museum speaks about the legacy of the plane, which was first brought to B.C. in the 1950s to fight wildfires. It was last used in 2015.

The water bomber will become the centrepiece of a new wildfire exhibition at the B.C. Aviation Museum, in North Saanich, starting September 28. 

Steve Nichol, president of the museum, said it will be “the jewel in the crown” of the museum’s firefighting display.

“This is a once in a lifetime event,” he said. “We’re going to have it open every day for the public, just to see what it was like to be inside the Martian Mars. I think people will be fascinated by it.”

The province says it has provided $250,000 to protect and preserve the aircraft as part of the exhibition. 

Richard Mosdell, the ‘Save the Mars’ project lead for the museum, said he still remembers the deep rumble of the aircraft echoing through the valleys as it soared overhead, battling forest fires.

“That deep, throaty old piston engine sound that you really felt in your chest,” he said during an interview with CBC’s On The Coast. 

He says the Mars’ history is rich and varied and should be preserved for future generations to observe and appreciate. 

‘A true aviation icon’

The Hawaii Mars was one of six prototypes produced by the U.S. navy in the 1940s for large-scale transport between the West Coast and Hawaii. But when aviation technology progressed, the planes were retired and put up for auction.

According to the province, the Mars was later converted to serve as the largest air ambulance during the Korean War, capable of carrying more than 120 soldiers and medical personnel in one trip. 

In 1958, B.C.’s forest industry purchased four Mars and repurposed them into wildfire-fighting machines. 

“It just has a grand history and it is a true aviation icon,” Coulson said.

Over its operational life, the water bomber dropped about 190 million litres of water on wildfires, a feat Coulson claims makes it the most effective firefighting aircraft in history.

The aviation company retired the water bomber in 2015, and it has since remained at the company’s home base on Sproat Lake in Port Alberni.

Coulson says the evolution of aviation and firefighting technology led to the planes’ demise.

“[But] there will never be a better firefighting aircraft, no matter what anybody says,” he said. 

HONOLULU — U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and the state’s incumbent congressional representatives won their races in the Democratic Party’s primary election on Saturday.

Hawaii is a vote-by-mail state. Ballots were mailed to registered voters who must return them through the mail or to drop-off boxes located around the islands. Voters also were given the option to cast ballots in person at a handful of voter service centers in each county.

Ballots had to be received by county elections offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

Here’s a look at key Hawaii races:

U.S. Senate

Hirono is seeking a third term after first being elected to the office in 2012 to replace Daniel Akaka, who was the first Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate after statehood.

She won a three-way race against Ron Curtis and Clyde McClain Lewman. Curtis lost to Hirono in the general election six years ago when he was the Republican nominee for the same seat. Lewman placed seventh in the Democratic primary for governor in 2022 with 249 votes.

Hirono became a state legislator in 1980, Hawaii’s lieutenant governor in 1994 and a member of the U.S. House in 2007.

She underwent surgery for kidney cancer in 2017, a year before she was last elected to a second six-year term in the Senate.

Former state Rep. Bob McDermott beat five lesser-known candidates for the Republican nomination for Senate. McDermott last ran for Senate two years ago when he lost to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, in the general election by a 44-point margin.

U.S. House

U.S. Rep. Ed Case won the Democratic Party primary to represent Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District in Congress by defeating Cecil Hale.

Case was first elected to the seat representing urban Honolulu in 2018, after previously representing Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District from 2002 to 2007.

Patrick Largey ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

In the 2nd Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda was unopposed in the Democratic primary and Steve Bond was unopposed in the Republican primary. The district covers suburban Honolulu and the neighbor islands.

State House

House Speaker Scott Saiki faces a tough race against Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is running once more after losing to Saiki by just 161 votes two years ago and 167 votes in 2020.

Their state house district covers downtown Honolulu and Kakaako, where a construction boom has transformed warehouses into high-rise condos.

Saiki, an attorney, has been House speaker since 2017 and a state representative for three decades. His campaign website touts legislation passed this year that he said would provide a 70% tax cut to working-class families.

Iwamoto is an attorney who represented Oahu on the state Board of Education from 2006 to 2011. Her website says she is fighting to expose government corruption and waste and to provide sufficient shelter and social workers to address homelessness.

Iwamoto was the highest-ranking openly transgender person elected in the country when she first won her education board seat 18 years ago.

Moderate Democratic Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, fended off a primary challenger in the state’s elections Saturday, setting himself up for a likely sixth full term in the House of Representatives.

Case is running for the seat in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, which he’s held since winning in the 2018 midterm elections.

He first came to Congress as a representative for the island’s 2nd Congressional District, winning a special election to fill the seat of Rep. Patsy Mink, who died of pneumonia in 2002.

HAVE BATTLEGROUNDS SHIFTED WITH HARRIS AT TOP OF TICKET?

Case left the House of Representatives in January 2007 and returned in January 2019, representing his current district.

He made headlines just last month as one of dozens of House Democrats who called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, which Biden did later that month.

In a July 11 statement, Case maintained that his decision only came from concerns about the 81-year-old leader’s ability to carry out another four-year term.

“This has nothing to do with his character and record,” Case said at the time. “If it did, there would be no decision to make.”

CRUCIAL SOUTHWESTERN BATTLEGROUND HOLDS SENATE, HOUSE PRIMARIES

Case was one of dozens of House Democrats calling on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Case is no stranger to crowded primary elections, besting a field of 44 candidates to replace Mink for her final two months in office in 2002. He also won a seven-way primary for his current seat in 2018.

This time, however, he faced just one primary challenger, Cecil Hale, who does not appear to have disclosed campaign finance data to the Federal Election Commission.

Case, by contrast, raised nearly $120,000 in individual contributions and ended the primary cycle with almost $260,000 cash on hand.

18 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Case’s likely victory in November is welcome padding for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is seeking to flip the House blue. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Hawaii only has two congressional districts, both represented by Democrats, and both of its senators are also Democrats.

It’s a safe blue stronghold for the left despite pervasive issues like the high cost of living, which has traditionally been a potent political weapon for Republicans in other parts of the country.

Republican Patrick Largey is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to challenge Case in November.