Fire Season: Will it soon be all year round in BC?

This website seems to be a good source of info.

http://www.thesunonline.ca/node/962325

BC Forest Service has been asking for wildlands urban interface projects to be implimented for the last  8 or so years. Just as they asked for proscribed burns to protect urban interface areas. The province stated it was the responsibility of the municipal districts, not theirs, to come up with the funding, if they were concerned. Which is scarey given the pine beetle situation.

As such, this government will  mainly spend on reaction and not proactive endeavours, though if there are no wildfires in the area, the IA and Unit crews sometimes work to remove ladder fuels and standing dead in interface areas which is on Crown Land. This gpvernment does not seem to get the fact that proactive saves tax payer's money and protects communities. The costs of bird dogs, water bombers and helicopter bucketing are huge per hour, and that is not even considering the on the ground crews, both machine and human, and the emergency medical response units.

Cost sharing of wildfires used to occur in tenured timber lots, between the government and private enterprises holding the tenure, but I am not sure if this is still occuring after the changes made in 2004 and 2005.  But I believe they only have to pay now, if they were the ones who  directly or indirectly caused the wildfire, though I am not 100% sure of this and stand to be corrected if not the case. Private citizens who start wildfires can also be forced to pay for the costs to fight the fire.

BC forest fire fighters are pretty much the best in the world and they go all over NA to fight fires. All provincially employed crews are very well trained and have been for decades. IA and Unit crews can be money making concerns for the government coffers and their working on committed interface projects, would cut into that potential. EFF's could be used for interface projects if there was a desire for governments to actually be pro-active.

The Forest Service has sent out diagrams with commentary, to private residences on how to manage their forest and home property interface areas, in this area. However, unless you have the money to pay fallers 200-400 dollars an hour, or put out similar for machine that falls, or have the skill to do it yourself, you are out of luck. And if the property next to you  has trees to close for safety, but is not owned by you, you have no recourse either, if the owner denies you permission to cut to make your home safe.

"11,000 now evacuated."

That might include a cousin of mind who lives in the Shannon Lake area which is being influenced by the Rose Valley fire - it look like both of these fires are the result of human activity - not necesaarily intentional - so people please be

 careful in the woods and the area around you when you travel.

Latest twitter update:

More good news - the remainder of the evacuees are going home this evening.

Lightening strikes are predicted across the south central interior this afternoon, if it is dry lightening, it bodes badly.

I am not sure what exactly your point is, as 1 act of  human carelessness, does much less damage than thousands of lightening strikes across a broad area that is ripe for a huge burn because of human carelessness...

Oh thank you, I was listening from afar, and was a bit distracted, thank you P101.

2200 evacuated in fire north of Kelowna, rain is accompanying lightening.

ETD location wrong

'Meanwhile, Kelowna RCMP have arrested a man after witnesses allegedly saw him set a brush fire in a residential area across the lake from one of the three fires that was contained last week.

Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Doherty said the intentionally set blaze was reported Thursday night at about 7 p.m. PT.

He said crews, who'd already doused a nearby fire, managed to put out the blaze before it reached some trees."

IDIOT!!!

Maybe the water bomber hit a Ogopogo while scooping? ;)

Firefighters on the Peloponnesus are doubly challenged, having to use CO2 fire extinguishers or dirt to extinguish flames.

.....everyone knows you NEVER put water on a Greece fire.......

I know, that was completely tactless.

Weather must be askew all over.  I would be surprised if Ontario doesn't set some records for rain, cold and lack of sunshine this summer.

Ontario is shifting it's water bombers and crews out to B.C.  I don't think they'll be too busy here this summer.

Makes me wonder if Australia might be asked to lend a hand,  as our crews and planes have gone down there in our winter to help them in a pinch.  In fact, I've often wondered if it would make any sense if Canada and Australia developed a combined water bomber fleet, and shared costs. 

Water bombers and crews are expensive, and there's little point in having them idle in either country over the winters.

"In fact, I've often wondered if it would make any sense if Canada and Australia developed a combined water bomber fleet, and shared costs. 

Water bombers and crews are expensive, and there's little point in having them idle in either country over the winters."

I don't believe that the water bombers are owned by the government but by a private firm that then contracts with various governments for there use.

Anyone know what the flying range of those planes are - wonder if they would be able to make the long haul across the Pacific.

I'm sure they have in the past, though perhaps through a circuitous route for refueling. 

I just googled it, and it seems that you are probably right, they don't have the range-- except for one type, an ancient WWII era sea plane converted to water bombing,  the Martin Mars.  From a message board, it seems they might have the range, and I think one from Canada did go to Australia at one point.  Maybe this is what I am remembering.

OR, I am confusing that Canada sells water bombers to other countries.

Meanwhile  Canwest said at 6 there are places on flood alert, as the remaining snow pack melts quickly