B.C. Wildfire ServiceB次元官网网址檚 operations director says in his 21 years with the organization heB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渘ever felt the heaviness that we are feeling this season.B次元官网网址�
Cliff Chapman took the opportunity to address the recent wildland firefighter deaths in B.C. and the Northwest Territories and Alberta during WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 (Aug. 2) latest wildfire and drought update.
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B次元官网网址淚 started as a firefighter as a 17-year-old kid and have worked my way through the organization to now where IB次元官网网址檓 director of provincial operations of the Wildfire service. IB次元官网网址檝e never felt the heaviness that we are feeling this season with the tragic loss of two individuals with B.C. wildfires.B次元官网网址�
Crews are doing OK, but itB次元官网网址檚 heavy.
B次元官网网址淭here is a lot of grief within the organization and beyond.B次元官网网址�
But Chapman said crews continue to show up everyday to support the firefighting effort on the ground, while making the difficult decision to leave their families and livelihoods behind.
It was the first weekly update since news broke that another wildfire firefighter was killed while working.
Zak Muise, 25, has been identified as the firefighter who was killed while assisting with the Donnie Creek wildfire, near Fort. St. John. ItB次元官网网址檚 B.C.B次元官网网址檚 largest wildfire at more than 583,000 hectares as of July 25.
B.C. Wildfire Service and Fort St. John RCMP confirmed the death Saturday, noting Muise was working in a remote area, about 150 kilometres north of Fort St. John, when the UTV he was riding on, rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road.
Muise, a Kelowna resident, is the second firefighter to die in B.C. this season, and the fourth in Canada.
On July 13, 19-year-old Devyn Gale died while working near Revelstoke. It was her third year with the service.
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The loss of life, Chapman said, is not something that crews have experienced a great deal in B.C. in the last decade or two and itB次元官网网址檚 not something they want to experience again going forward.
B次元官网网址淭he truth is: Humans are the centre of emergencies, whether thatB次元官网网址檚 the people who are impacted or the people who are there trying to limit the impact.B次元官网网址�
Asked about the level of danger, he said to consider when an evacuation order is put in place: A community is leaving due to the threat of wildfire, but B.C. Wildfire Service crews are B次元官网网址済oing the other way, toward that response to try and protect the community.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭here are inherent dangers with that.B次元官网网址�
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However, there are times when itB次元官网网址檚 too dangerous to send in crews.
Pointing to the recent fire in Osoyoos, Chapman said it was extremely aggressive and B次元官网网址渨e canB次元官网网址檛 put humans in front of that fire.
B次元官网网址淭hat fire is extremely dangerous and it is moving so fast that our people have, obviously, significant training on what to do, what to know about the weather, what to know about the fire behaviour and when is the time to pull back based on the conditions that they see.B次元官网网址�
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lauren.collins@blackpress.ca
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