Four Courtenay firefighters are in Fort St. James helping with the fight against wildfires in B.C.’s Interior.
The department received a call for assistance late Monday night, explained Kurt MacDonald, deputy fire chief.
“The province only asked for four fighters and one engine, but before we commit to anything, we’re not obligated to go. We take a look and see what type of resources we have left in our community, what type of apparatus we have, the weekend is coming up and we talk to the firefighters and see who is on holidays.”
He said the initial deployment is estimated to be between seven and 10 days, although last year when members went to battle fires in the Clinton area, they were there for nearly one month.
“We kind of had a feeling that it would happen sooner rather than later,” he noted.
“We’re not entirely shocked. We’re more surprised by the time of the year. Last year when we went, everything started happening in early July. Now, here we are halfway through August. It does seem a little late but you can’t control the weather and it is what it is.”
MacDonald added while four members of the department are going to the mainland, he is aware the priority is to ensure there remains enough apparatus and firefighters in the city to provide firefighting service.
Tony Hryko, one of the firefighters who travelled to the Interior said he has experience working with wildfires – assisting with a fire in Kelowna in 2003 and in Clinton last year.
“I just enjoy going out. I’ve been in the department for 23 years and it’s different things we like to do – go to different places, see different things and help out.
“We’re mostly structural here, (but) we do have some brush fires. We will be going up there for structural protection rather than straight bushfires but we’ll see when we get there.”
He added some of the challenges of working with a wildfire include heavy smoke and finding sufficient water sources.
In Comox, fire chief Gord Schreiner is working with crews in the Interior. He said as of this week, his department was not deploying any members, but may assist later in the week.
He also spent time last week at the Nanaimo Lakes fire as a Structure Protection Specialist.
Oyster River Fire Rescue chief Bruce Green said while their department has not yet deployed any of their members, they are on standby for the Coastal Fire Centre strike team. Like Comox, the detachment also has a Structural Protection Unit which can assist in saving homes and buildings.
Mike Williamson, fire chief for the Village of Cumberland said they have not been asked to assist, as their department is smaller – around 30 members. He added he is hoping to acquire a new fire engine, and said perhaps next year if needed, he could send an engine from the detachment to assist with wildfire fighting efforts.
