Fire Fighting

At the request of the Alberta government, some 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel have been deployed to help fight wildfires. An additional 100 are expected to join in over the weekend. [node:read-more:link]

Alberta Premier declared a provincial state of emergency on the weekend to deal with an “unprecedented” outbreak of wildfires. Some 25,000 residents have been forced from their homes in north and central Alberta and thousands more were on evacuation alert. [node:read-more:link]

The two crewmembers of a converted Boeing 737, one of six owned by Vancouver-Island Coulson Aviation, survived the February 6 crash of their waterbomber while fighting wildfires in western Australia. The aircraft was based in Sydney after Coulson waterbomber had been based in Sydney after the company recently signed a two-year contract from the Australian government [node:read-more:link]

Helicopter crews fighting a wildfire in Jasper National Park had to ground their aircraft September 5 when small unmanned aerial vehicles were flown in the highly dynamic airspace. Drone usage is prohibited in national parks without a permit and two operators are facing charges.

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Temperatures continued to soar throughout much of Western Europe today after Britain recorded a record 40.2 degrees July 17. Extreme heat warnings have been issued in France, record temperatures were reported in The Netherlands, and wildfires have been spreading in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain. [node:read-more:link]

Dozens of wildfires in Western Canada, including one near a B.C. community devastated by a fire in 2021, are being blamed on continued warm dry weather. Manitoba has reported 45 blazes [node:read-more:link]

With some studies suggesting that as many as half of civilian first responders such as firefighters and paramedics suffer from psychological trauma linked to their jobs, Wounded Warriors Canada is collaborating with First Responder Health Services in B.C. on a new digital mental health platform. The partnership is taking its training Canada-wide. [node:read-more:link]

British Columbia’s wildfire problem has prompted the provincial government to extend its state of emergency by two weeks. More than 30,000 properties remain under evacuation orders and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Aug. 17 that travel to the areas should be avoided. [node:read-more:link]

About 100 firefighters from Mexico have joined their British Columbia counterparts and elements of the Canadian Armed Forces in a concerted effort to contain 259 forest fires burning mainly in the province’s southern interior. A spokesperson for B.C. Wildfire Services says continued outbreaks suggest that “we are looking to definitely break some records this year.” [node:read-more:link]

With more than 300 wildfires and growing concerns about deteriorating weather, the B.C. government announced today that a state of emergency would go into effect at midnight. Initially for 14 days, it empowers the to, among other things, order evacuations and to prohibit travel. The Department of National Defence confirmed preparations to support civilian firefighters. [node:read-more:link]

Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways have been ordered by the federal government to step up their fire prevention efforts as wildfires continue to scorch British Columbia. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said July 11 that the companies must ensure a 60-minute response time to any fires detected along their rights-of-way. [node:read-more:link]

A fire which destroyed most of the southern B.C. town of Lytton last week, killing two residents, was probably human-caused and originated within the community. This is according to a B.C. Wildfire Service officer who stressed July 4 that the fire remains under investigation. [node:read-more:link]

Police evacuated residents from several homes in a Jerusalem suburb on Sunday after a fire broke out in the area. Last week, several large wildfires erupted on the outskirts of Jerusalem and the West Bank, leading to the temporary evacuation of some residents and numerous road closures. Reports at the time said authorities suspected the fires may have been deliberate acts of arson. [node:read-more:link]

A Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport owned by Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Columbia-based Coulson Group, crashed 23 January while fighting wildfires in Australia. The three-member crew of American residents died. [node:read-more:link]