BCWS' Jean Strong speaks with Australian firefighter Anthony Beacham (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WILDFIRE SEASON 2024

International help arrives as B.C.’s wildfire fight reaches a new peak

Jul 24, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — There are currently more than 400 active wildfires burning across the province of British Columbia. Of those fires, 258 are classified as out of control and four are listed as wildfires of note, meaning they pose a risk to property or human life. With the wildfire season stretching into its third month in B.C., reinforcements have arrived to back up the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and provide an brief chance for respite.

Anthony Beacham had never been to Canada before stepping off a plane this week in Vancouver. Now, the experienced fire information officer from Australia is preparing to deploy to the southeast for 14 days as part of an incident command team.

“My incident management team role in Australia is a public information officer. That involves issuing warnings to communities, also working with the media, and also community liaison, assisting communities out,” said Beacham, from the Country Fire Authority in Victoria, Australia.

While it’s Beacham’s first foray into the Great White North, it’s nothing new for a long-standing relationship between BC Wildfire and their Australian counterparts.

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“For more than 15 years, we have been able to share resources between our summers and their summers. We trust them. They know their stuff,” said Jean Strong, Communications Officer with BCWS. “A lot of our staff, although we are just seeing the fires shift to the south of the province, have been working in the north really since the first week of May. Being able to bring in additional people who can give them time to rest, time to reset, time with their families, leaves them fresh and better next time they are out.”

The wildfire season has hit a new high in recent weeks, with fires shifting further south into the Kamloops Fire Centre, and the aftermath of 38,000 lightning strikes across the province still yet to be seen.

“In addition to Australia and New Zealand, we’ve seen help from other out-of-province resources so far this year. We have unit crews come in from Nova Scotia, currently arriving from Ontario and the Yukon,” added Strong. “In addition to aviation resources, we have aircraft in the province from Alaska, Quebec, Ontario and the Yukon in addition to our aircraft, which really helps us build out that fleet.”

Beacham has previously thought about coming to Canada on a vacation, but with only two days off between a pair of 14-day stints, the Australian won’t have much time to enjoy B.C.

“Deployed for 35 days, arrived on July 21 and return around August 24. At this stage we have a few deployments planned, so it’s 14 days on, two days off, and 14 days back on, so it’s pretty strenuous but whilst we’re here, we are here to assist,” Beacham told CFJC News.

Having met a number of Canadian firefighters Down Under over recent years, 2024 was the summer for him to return the favour.

“To come across here and be able to use my skills to assist the Canadians in need, but also to learn. We are here to help, that is the most important thing,” said Beacham who recounted receiving help in Victoria from Canadians in 2017 and 2018. “We understand that these fire seasons are very arduous on communities. They are also arduous on the families of firefighters and incident management team people. If we can give them some downtime and assist them with our skill sets, we are certainly here for that.”

Currently, 60 firefighting personnel from Australia and New Zealand are in B.C.