VANCOUVER — A helicopter crashed Thursday while fighting one of several fires roaring through British Columbia, highlighting the dangers that fire crews face while battling blazes during one of the driest months of July the province has ever seen.
The chopper went down while fighting the 10-square kilometre Jade Mountain wildfire near Lillooet, about 340 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Two fire officials were on board the helicopter when it crashed. The 61-year-old pilot was taken to hospital with a concussion and pain in his legs, while the 27-year-old co-pilot was not injured and released from hospital.
Bill Yearwood, a Transportation Safety Board spokesman, said another helicopter was trailing the one that went down and its crew immediately attempted to get the men out of danger.
“I understand that it was right in the fire area so it would have been important to get them out of there right away,” he said.
The cause of the crash is not yet known but the TSB has launched an investigation. Forestry crews suspended their response at the fire site after the crash to reassess the attack plan.
The Bell 214-B chopper is owned by Chilliwack, B.C.-based Transwest Helicopters. Ernst Maas, Transwest’s owner, said Thursday was an especially rough day for the small company’s employees.
“Our pilot has been working for us for over 10 years,” he said. “He’s also a personal friend of mine and our concern was strictly for the crew. The helicopter can always be repaired.”
“They dropped the water bucket and flew downhill trying to make a clearing but had a hard landing and the aircraft bowled over.”
The Jade Mountain wildfire, which was discovered July 21, was 15-per-cent contained Thursday afternoon. The blaze was caused by a lightning strike and it’s sparked an evacuation alert, meaning residents could be forced out of their homes at a moment’s notice.
Kim Steinbart, a provincial fire information officer, said keeping first responders safe is a primary concern.
“We have had close to 200 fires in the last two days and with the hot temperatures, dry conditions and some of these fires showing a high level of intensity, that means that the risk is also increasing,” she said.
“We need to make sure we’re working in a safe manner so everybody can come home at the end of the day.”
Fire crews were kept busy Thursday as much of B.C. continued to be hit by warm temperatures with rain nowhere in sight.
About 125 people were forced from 60 seasonal properties around Bonaparte Lake north of Kamloops in the southern Interior when an evacuation order was issued Wednesday night. That evacuation order was rescinded Thursday night for those living on the western side of the lake.
The fire was estimated at 110 hectares Thursday afternoon and was completely uncontained. Smoke could be seen in the community of Barriere, 22 kilometres away.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as 30 firefighters and six helicopters battled the flames.
In a separate fire, about 20 residents of the Riske Creek military base were ordered out of their homes east of Williams Lake, about 500 kilometres north of Vancouver.
A third wildfire closed Highway 37 near the B.C.-Yukon boundary. The lightning-sparked blaze broke out Tuesday and covered one square kilometre by Thursday afternoon.
No properties have been lost in any of the fires.
Steinbart said 17 of the fires discovered Wednesday were human-caused. She said that could range from someone discarding a cigarette carelessly to a train causing sparks near the track.
People need to be careful, especially as many will head outdoors for the upcoming B.C. Day long weekend, Steinbart said.
“If you could find a positive side to all the fire activity this week, it’s that I think it will help people be aware of the situation that we’re facing around the province and how dry and how easy it is for fires to start.” (The Canadian Press, CFJC, CHNL)