2024 Wildfire Season

[PrairieFella]

Just like Kansas.

Honestly I kinda like it that way. Our relative isolation built a unique culture. Not quite Western, not quite Eastern. Multicultural but grounded. Etc etc.

Love my province.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I wish I could say that....I was on new fires starting personally up until late November and I got a slow spring with no my first fire in April. But coworkers were dealing with fires in all the other winter months....at somewhere in there you need people to arrange for the seasonal season hiring and training work which is the "off season" workload.

Add in that for many agencies it's also only part of the job for many staff and the resource management work is year round as well and it's fun.

The one positive is that for many jurisdictions they are acknowledging that you can't rely upon firefighters only between May-August (aka school break) and that you need resources for those spring and fall situations. I think of it more like some of the historical militia call outs/campaigning season that used to be between seeding and harvest time in the summer months...and as warfare/tactics evolved has moved to 24 hour, year round battles. Lightning caused fires - yes - need the summer heat to generate the lightning but unfortunately we can't stop stupid people from starting fires year round which is where some resources need to be available for response.

I also agree that one of the biggest challenges is if you have a major situation you're always short of manpower/resources...but you can never justify having everyone sitting around for the 99% rare occurrence situation unless they are doing alternate meaningful work while waiting.

Hats off to you folks!

It's one of those wicked problems, for sure. When you don't really know what's around the corner but don't want to be surprised, and don't really want to make the big investments to reassure everyone that it will be OK because the costs would probably break the bank...

 

[mariomike]

Unfortunately my experience further east is either a) dated or b) sparse so I can't speak to how TF3 (Toronto) is operating.

For reference there are:
CAN TF1 (Vancouver)
CAN TF2 (Calgary)
CAN TF3 (Toronto)
CAN TF4 (Manitoba)
CAN TF5 (Halifax)
CAN TF6 (Montreal)
All are focused upon Urban Search and Rescue, follow ICS training but their reporting lines, support and membership varies.

Main difference seems to be membership.

TF2 is Open competition.

TF3 is Closed ( TPS, TFS and T-EMS ) members only.

( If I recall correctly, it was Senior Qualified. But, may have been Relative Ability Process. )

Category 1: ETF – $1000.00 annual premium

Category 2: CBRNE, HUSAR, PSU, Marine – $425.00 annual premium

 

[RangerRay]

Here’s a documentary about how a community in BC was saved by forest management (i.e. FireSmart) and a last minute wind shift. Well worth the time to watch.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

That old saw has been gone over again and again and again. It is not the military’s doing, but the lobbying and success of the commercial aviation operators in convincing governments across the country to prohibit the military from conducting fire bucketing (even on DND property, to put out range fires and the like) so as to maximize their own revenue. If commercial bucketing operators in the Okanagan asked you why the military didn’t bucket, they were either junior enough in their respective organizations to legitimately not know the answer, or old enough to know better. Based on the commercial fire operators’ efforts to maximize own profit water under that bridge, the RCAF removed the Griffon’s Bambi bucket from its very early service, never to be used much past its initial certification, so guess what? The ‘experts’ were right. The Griffon currently does not operate with a Bambi bucket.

Would be interested to see your reference as to which aviation experts were similarly saying the Griffon couldn’t fly in Afghanistan. I call BS on that.

There is a general rule that the CAF cannot provide services that compete with civilian industry.

There really is not a shortage of commercial helicopters that are bucket capable, in my experience.

 

[Good2Golf]

I must have been tripping balls when I saw them there, then.

Were you tripping balls in 96-99? That would have been the timeframe that 403 Sqn/LATEF was testing the 200gal Bambi Bucket. I can’t recall ever seeing it anywhere but flying in Gagetown during that operational test and eval.

There is a general rule that the CAF cannot provide services that compete with civilian industry.

There really is not a shortage of commercial helicopters that are bucket capable, in my experience.

Although those that want to pull away from lucrative fires to put out a range fire on DND property are…..scarce.

I’ve bucketed with CH-147 (2000gal per drop, put small fires out in…..a hurry) and the CH-135 (200gal bucket, cute but took a lot of drops to do anything useful) including putting out fires that some of your mud gunner colleagues set off in the various Pet impact areas. Never bucketed with the CH-146, but it sure would have been handy to have to put out fires ON DND property. The fires on base I saw had Ontario MNR fire teams come in after a reverse ACP RFE was put in to EMO…

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Yeah, I know. I watched both 403 and 427 bucket water on fires in their respective training areas.

I think the big giant heads saw it as too much temptation to freelance off the ranges and divested the capability.

 

[dapaterson]

Yeah, I know. I watched both 403 and 427 bucket water on fires in their respective training areas.

I think the big giant heads saw it as too much temptation to freelance off the ranges and divested the capability.

Maybe based on 2 RCHA's accuracy, they realized there wasn't enough YFR.

 

[Good2Golf]

Maybe based on 2 RCHA's accuracy, they realized there wasn't enough YFR.

…or at least a few of their GPOs. IYKYK

 

[dapaterson]

The impact area is just a suggestion, right?

 

[Good2Golf]

The impact area is just a suggestion, right?

Impact area, LZ….tomayto, tomahto…

 

[dapaterson]

Impact area, LZ….tomayto, tomahto…

Sort of like how someone could miss the backstop on an anti-tank rocket range, when the backstop is a mountain.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

…or at least a few of their GPOs. IYKYK

Oh, that one.

At least, there was no fire.

And no helos were harmed in the incident. Somehow.

 

[brihard]

Were you tripping balls in 96-99? That would have been the timeframe that 403 Sqn/LATEF was testing the 200gal Bambi Bucket. I can’t recall ever seeing it anywhere but flying in Gagetown during that operational test and eval.

I meant Griffons over in the sandbox.

 

[Good2Golf]

I meant Griffons over in the sandbox.

Ahhhh, yeah you were definitely tripping balls! Griffies were spewing smarties (Ball, tracer, AP and HEI) so kind of “anti-fire extinguishing”)