It was as though they were performing a series of dance movesB次元官网网址攅ach foot moving slightly behind or beside the other deliberatelyB次元官网网址攈owever, in this case, missing a step didnB次元官网网址檛 mean missing a beat, it meant falling out of a helicopter into a wildfire.

Okay, not a real fire. But the helicopter was real enough as members from practiced their hover-exit maneuvers at the Hope airport Tuesday afternoon.

Unlike structure fires, or fires within populated areas, forest fires donB次元官网网址檛 always have roads that can deliver firefighters to an active burn, so a helicopter is used to literally drop them where they need to be.

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B次元官网网址淚f the terrain is very difficult and we canB次元官网网址檛 find a flat spot to actually land the helicopter B次元官网网址� we use the hover-exit technique to get a crew on the ground to a fire,B次元官网网址� explained Brian Davis, crew leader for the Initial Attack team.

First responders of a sort, Davis says itB次元官网网址檚 the Initial Attack team whoB次元官网网址檚 first contacted to report on the conditions of the fire and report back to the fire centre on whether they can contain it themselves or will need more assistance. So itB次元官网网址檚 important theyB次元官网网址檙e delivered to fire sites quickly and safely.

The annual training is mandatory because it keeps the firefighters up-to-date and practicing because, as itB次元官网网址檚 used as a last resort, the technique isnB次元官网网址檛 used every year. However, in his seventh season with B.C. Wildfire Services, Davis says the heli-exit experience can be a nerve-wracking one for beginners.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of times these guys havenB次元官网网址檛 even flown in a helicopter and theyB次元官网网址檙e being asked to now step out of one thatB次元官网网址檚 hovering.B次元官网网址�

Yet itB次元官网网址檚 not only the newbies who feel nervous as they step out of a hovering helicopter. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 still a rush for sureB次元官网网址攖hatB次元官网网址檚 why I love the job. That initial rush you get when youB次元官网网址檙e flying out to the fire trying to figure out what to do.B次元官网网址�

And with record low precipitation levels in March, and reports of wildfires already coming in, the training couldnB次元官网网址檛 come at a better time.

But B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 impossible to really predict how many fires weB次元官网网址檙e going to getB次元官网网址擨 really have no idea,B次元官网网址� continued Davis, who spends his winters living in the Fraser Valley and summers fighting fires across the province. B次元官网网址淵ou just have to take them as they come.B次元官网网址�

As of April 1, there were are 28 wildfires larger than 0.009 hectares burning in various locations around the province. In 2017, B.C. experienced its worst wildfire season on recordB次元官网网址攚ith 2018 being the second worstB次元官网网址攏early $570 million was spent trying to suppress fires that burned across 1.2 million hectares of land, and displaced 65,000 people.

Sarah.Gawdin@HopeStandard.com
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