The B.C. Wildfire Service says personnel has gone from 2,000 in July to 3,900 in August (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

WILDFIRE MEMO

B.C. Wildfire Service says resources have doubled since early concern in July

Aug 19, 2021 | 3:50 PM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. Wildfire Service says the leaked memo was written and sent out by a member of the forest industry after a meeting on July 12.

The wildfire service also notes the memo was at a time when a lack of resources were a concern as the fire season was heating up, but now it says the number of personnel has increased dramatically.

The Director of Wildfire Operations for the B.C. Wildfire Service Rob Schweitzer says that early in the season, there were other major fires burning across the country, limiting the amount of firefighters that could help with B.C.’s fight.

However, Schweitzer says since the memo on July 12, the situation has changed significantly. The wildfire service has managed to double its firefighting personnel.

“Since that time, we’ve seen crews from Quebec, the Maritimes, Northwest Territories, Alberta,” said Schweitzer. “As they were able to free up resources from other provinces, they flooded in. I think we went from about just over 2,000 resources right around [July 12] to almost doubling that to 4,000.”

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Schweitzer says the meeting on July 12 was call to action with forestry leaders who the wildfire service felt could help in the fight. When asked what more could be done, Schweitzer says the B.C. Wildfire Service has employed a lot of contractors, including forestry workers who have fought to protect timber in the backcountry.

“From our perspective, everyone that is qualified and capable has been employed within B.C.,” he said. “And we’ve seen that in our partnerships with both the contracting community as well as some of the key stakeholders [including forestry leaders]. We seen that response from our national partners.

Despite some criticism the province is making it difficult for contractors to help with firefighting, Schweitzer says there are more than 1,000 contractors currently employed in the province.