Firefighter in the field - part 2

By Kate Bezooyen
Part 2: The "High"
​Being chosen for export is an incredible opportunity, so, it was no surprise our crew was very excited when we were notified we would be heading to British Columbia on day one of our next shift.  With no idea where we would be stationed or what to expect, we happily loaded our gear bags into the truck and hit the road. 

Somewhere along the drive, our leader receives a phone-call with more information and we find out we will be heading to the Southern region of BC, but uncertainty remains as to what the nearest town will be when we finally settle into our new assignment.  Slowly, bits of information trickle down to us and we learn we will be paired with a local BC crew to assist them on their fire.
 
In the morning, we gather up the gear we have been requested to bring by the Incident Commander and head to our assigned meeting point.  We load everything up and climb into the helicopter, excited to meet the BC crew and start helping with the fire.
 
Flying past stunning mountains we see a few plumes of smoke coming off a peak in the distance.  We get closer and circle around to get a better view of the fire what we are dealing with.  It appears to be active in 2 main areas, and otherwise very spotty as debris regularly rolls down the steep incline starting new fires below the existing boundary.  

The original BC crew has already established a main hose-lay to access three main areas of the fire. We quickly get to work, spreading ourselves out and tying in smaller “econo” hose lines to “water thieves” along the main hose lay. We are careful to conserve water and turn our hoses on just long enough to wet an area, and then we dig it up. When all hoses are running, it’s a quick drain on the water supply so we try to maintain a balance so we don’t end up fully draining the supply before the helicopter can return with another bucket-load.  ​​

​We work steadily for hours, getting into a groove of wetting and digging, bumping ahead to the next spot, wetting and digging, running more hose and then wetting and digging some more.  It’s a good system and keeps us busy for a couple days combing the steep slopes for new spot fires and extinguishing as much as we can despite the hot, dry weather making the fuels very susceptible to ignition from rolling embers.  ​

One particularly hot, sunny afternoon, we get bad news:  our helicopter is being called off to another incident:  we will be operating without water for a while.  Armed with only our Pulaskis, we do what we can to extinguish the lower intensity areas, knowing some areas contain too much heat for a hand-tool to be effective.  Unfortunately, the weather is not on our side, and the lack of water seriously hampers our efforts at containing the more active fire areas.  From the burnt area I’m working, I can see trees on the other side of a rocky ridge begin torching one at a time.  Then, a well-timed gust of wind fuels the fire and I watch several trees light up all at once, fanning a massive wall of flame towards where I am standing.  My training and fire-knowledge reassure me I am in a safe zone, that there is a well-spaced fuel free area between the flame wall and where I am working, but the heat I feel blowing towards me tells me I better hustle further into the black. Just in case... 
 
As the day wears on, eventually our helicopter returns and we gain access to water for a few hours in the evening when the weather isn’t so hot and the fire behaviour becomes more manageable.  After a few more days of work on the fire, it is finally extinguished — every single scattered spot up and down the slopes.  We dismantle the elaborate network of hose and carry them up to the helipad.  We leave the fire and drive back to the main base.  We say good-bye to our new friends from the BC crew, head in to rest for the night.  The next morning, we wake up, excited and eager to learn where our next crew assignment in beautiful British Columbia will take us. 

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