In the mountains above Merritt, B.C., British Columbia’s next crop of wildland firefighters are being introduced to the skills, and the endurance, they’ll need for the tough season ahead.
“I came for hard work and I found it,” BC Wildfire Service recruit Liam Frost told Global News.
“If you think you are tough, this is the place to come test it out.”
Frost is one of some 250 recruits being put through the paces at the BC Wildfire Service New Recruit Bootcamp.
Some, like Salmon Arm’s Taylor Parker, say they’ve wanted to do this since middle school.
“(I’m a) big environmentalist, really like working hard, getting my hands dirty and feeling like I am doing something to make a change,” she said.
Following a record-breaking 2023 wildfire season, the service says interest in the program is up — with more than 2,000 applications received this year.
Kyle Young, the BC Wildfire Service’s manager of organizational development said the program is not for the faint of heart.
“It’s long, hard days with a lot of mental challenges when you are out there for 14 days and doing a back-to-back-to-back. And it also takes a toll on our bodies,” he said.
“After this week they will have the fundamentals and kind of gain the knowledge of what to expect this season. There’s a lot more learning that happens once they get to their crews, but this week instills a lot of work ethic and understanding what the job actually entails.”
Over the course of six days, recruits learn critical communication protocols, dig trenches, douse fires and more, before they’re told where they’ll ship out to for the season.
They’re also introduced to mental health resources they can lean on in the wake of a critical incident such as a failed mission, fatality or injury.
With six deaths in the service last season, Critical Incident Stress Management Program manager Erik Hanson said those tools are more relevant than ever.
“The primary message is understanding that good mental health underpins operational excellence. This is how we do excellent work,” he said.
“We’ve got you. There is resources and systems and peers out there that support you and want you to be successful.”
The new recruits will find themselves in action soon: B.C.’s wildfire season is off to an early start.
Officials were already forced to issue the season’s first evacuating order due to the Wildmare Creek fire near Chetwynd, though the order has since been rescinded.
As of Monday, there were 110 wildfires burning in British Columbia, three of them classified as out of control.