Crews have been hard at work trying to cool down the wildfires burning in the Okanagan, and have made good progress the past couple of days.
Robert Gallagher, a helicopter pilot on contract for BC Wildfire, says that he’s feeling “pretty good” about what they’ve been able to accomplish so far.
“I’m feeling quite positive that we’ll be able to get these under control,” Gallagher told NowMedia, just 10 minutes before heading off to the Okanagan Park wildfire.
It’s been quite a busy week for personnel at the fires this week, Gallagher included, but he says they’re in the mop up stages for some of the fires now to make sure they’re completely out.
Photo Credit: KelownaNow
Gallagher responded to the Knox Mountain fire in Kelowna on Friday afternoon, which they were able to put out in good time.
Gallagher spends about 8 hours a day working on the fires, refueling about every two hours. He says not much stops them from flying, except for decreased visibility with smoke. Even in windy conditions, he says they’re usually able to move around the fire to get in a better location.
In terms of response time, pilots have under five minutes to get up in the air when they’re needed.
“We’re on what they call a five minute getaway,” he explains. “So we have to be airborne in under five minutes and on our way to a fire.”
Gallagher also responded to the 2017 B.C. wildfires, so this isn’t new for him. The good news is that these fires aren’t comparable to the fire we saw last year, he says.
“These fires are smaller and a lot less complex than say the Elephant Hill wildfire,” he says, adding that it’s still early in the season and there’s definitely potential for more fire activity.
“I suspect that BC Wildfire is going to have a busy season with the forecast that’s coming,” says Gallagher.
Many of the fires are still considered out of control, such as the Mount Eneas wildfire and the Goode’s Creek wildfire, but firefighters have been able to make headway with improved weather conditions.
A quick clip of some of the action from 2018.
