Posted on 08/13/2007 8:27:22 PM PDT by JohnA
The B.C. Forest Service is fighting to keep a wildfire from crossing into the United States, southeast of Trail.
The Pend d'Oreille fire, covering 120 hectares, was 100 metres from the Canada-U.S. border. It started over the weekend and grew rapidly, driven by strong winds.
"The patrol that looked at the fire this morning stated there is [also] substantial growth of the fire to the north and the east," Julie Castonguay, a fire information officer, told CBC News Monday afternoon.
Air tankers and 34 firefighters were on site to fight the fire.
The biggest concern is protecting a power line that is on the other side of a river from the fire, she said.
While the fire is moving towards Trail, no homes or businesses are threatened at this time, she said. Continue Article
If the fire does spread toward any homes or structures, the standard protocol is for the forest service to contact the regional district, local municipalities and RCMP "to knock on people's doors," Castonguay said.
"The Colville National Forest Service is working on a contingency line south of the border and have mobilized some crews," she said.
Environment Canada forecasts sun for Trail over the next two days with highs in the 30s, but a 70 per cent chance of showers Thursday. With files from the Canadian Press
Maybe some departments should lend a hand to our northern neighbors instead of waiting for it to cross, if it can cross.
Fires don’t know boundaries as well as firefighting bureacrats do. It’s a big deal in Canada when one province helps another and a big deal in Australia when one state helps another and a big deal in Europe when one nation helps another.
I live in Trail, and I’ve been going out to the Pend O’Reille to watch the helicopters and water-bombers working furiously to fight the fire back. It’s amazing to see the hardware at work, some neat helicopter configurations I’ve never seen in my life.
However, the weather is not looking good for us on the northern side of the border and I suspect within a month if present conditions continue, this fire will present a very distinct problem on both sides of the river.
Do you think there’s a case to be made for bringing on the Martin Mars waterbomber? I understand the government can still rent it and it’s under new ownership, yes?
I’m not entirely sure they aren’t already being used. Heck, I didn’t even recognize some of the helicopters being used.
There was a Kaman K-Max being used, which I’d never seen before in my life. Very neat to see in action.
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