By Spencer Sterritt

RDN firefighters heading to B.C. interior to battle wildfires

Jul 17, 2017 | 5:51 PM

NANAIMO — Firefighters from Vancouver Island are on-route to help out their brothers in Central and Southern B.C.

Jon Wilson, manager of emergency services for the Regional District of Nanaimo, said two-person crews have already left from both Coombs and Qualicum Beach, with a four-person crew from Nanaimo waiting to learn where they’ll be sent.

The Coombs team also has a high-capacity water tank, which will help boost the water supply in areas far from any lakes, rivers or hookups.

Wilson said district fire chiefs took a “conservative” approach to sending aid.

“They want to make sure with the dry, seasonable weather we have here, we have all the appropriate resources for response if we have a situation ourselves.”

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The teams will rotate out of B.C.’s interior after six days.

Doug Gardiner, district fire services coordinator and former fire chief in the Central Okanangan region, said it’s ideal to rotate firefighters since it’s such an emotionally draining experience being so close to the flames.

“You’re right there, unless there’s a firestorm and you have to get out of there. Once the trees start crowning you’ll have to get relatively close.

“You’re somewhat in control but you’re not until you actually get it 100 per cent contained with a pretty good idea it’s not going to jump (your fire) line. I’ve seen them jump 500 feet in just the blink of an eye.”

While in the interior, Gardiner would work in communication hubs only a few hundred feet from raging blazes, coordinating firefighters and making sure everyone was safe.

He said the firefighters going to the mainland will be at the mercy of both Mother Nature and the strange weather patterns wildfires create.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit