Significant progress being made on Northern blazes: BC Wildfire Service

The BC Wildfire Service is reporting significant progress is being made on fires in the North, with some help from recent weather.

“With the slight downturn in weather, we’ve had great success in getting guards around many of our larger fires, steering fires away from communities and critical infrastructure, and being able to call many of our smaller fires out or being held,” said Provincial Director of Wildfire Operations Cliff Chapman.

Chapman added Prince George has been set up as the ‘provincial marshalling point’ for national and international resources.

“That’s where our military is flying into, that’s where Mexicans and Brazilians are flying into, where they get briefed, and get redistributed to our primary priority fires,” he explained.

Some showers are in the forecast over the next few days, which Chapman said will help allow them to have success in their suppression tactics.

“What that means is being able to use heavy equipment with our partner agencies, with industry and contractors to be able to get around fires, in some cases using fire to burn off any unburned material between the guard and the body of the fire,” Chapman said.

“As well it allows us to put our staff into the flanks of the fire and potentially even all around the fire and use water to actually start to suppress the edges of the fire. 72 hours with 2,500 people on the ground, we can get a lot accomplished and we are seeing that already in the North with the last 48 hours, even longer, with a bit of reprieve in weather the North, and were seeing success with our suppression tactics.”

The BC Wildfire Service confirmed a memorial procession and service for BC Wildfire Service crew member Devyn Gale will be held in Revelstoke on Saturday.

“This loss is felt across BC, it’s felt across the BC Wildfire Service, and it’s felt across the globe within the wildland and first responder community,” Chapman said.

“Fire fighting is dangerous work. You spend countless hours a day in very difficult, extreme conditions trying to protect the people and the infrastructure of your province. It was devastating for us last Thursday with the loss of Devyn Gale.”

Chapman asks that all British Columbians keep Devyn Gale in their heart, as we experience the next number of weeks in the fire season.