As wildfire season kicks off in British Columbia, a helicopter equipped with potentially life-saving night vision technology has been sent to battle fires in Alberta.
According to North Shore Rescue, the aircraft owned by Talon Helicopters has been in the neighbouring province since April 1 in a multi-month day deal reached with Alberta Wildfire.
The North Vancouver-based search and rescue service had been using the helicopter for months, pairing its light-sensitive gauges, spotlight and water-carrying belly tank with night vision goggles to find and douse wildfires overnight, as well as save stranded recreationalists.
“I think for the air carrier, we understand their decision. It’s really about making money for that helicopter. We can’t offer that kind of money to the air carrier here,” North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks told Global News on Wednesday.
“Right now we’re quite limited in our helicopter resources.”
Night vision helicopters and their specialized tools were tested by the B.C. Wildfire Service successfully in 2020. Alberta Wildfire rolled it out, but B.C. did not, citing a lack of time to train crews.
BC United Official Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon called that decision “very frustrating.”
“Last summer, I was literally at a forest fire saying, ‘Please B.C. government, utilize this technology that allows us to fight fires 24/7,’ and the NDP seemed to think that you can fight fires from nine to five. That’s not reality,” he said.
In an interview, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the valued helicopter will come back to B.C. if it’s needed.
“Yes, it may be in Alberta at the moment, but if it’s needed in British Columbia, I’m sure the arrangements can be made to have it here if the need is greater,” he said at the legislature.
“That need, I would say at the present time is in Alberta, but it doesn’t mean it’s unavailable here in British Columbia should the need arise. It’s a question of not simply having that equipment on standby and not being used, it’s a question of using it in an effective way.”
Budget 2023 also includes funds for B.C. Wildfire to operate year-round, 24 hours a day, he added.
As it stands, there are 47 active wildfires across the province for a total of 138 this year. There are also 47 in Alberta, for a total of 293 this year.
Danks described this season as the “busiest to date” with 227 calls. Night vision is normally required on between 18 and 20 calls per year.
“I can say with confidence that when our team has deployed with that night vision helicopter, it’s for someone that’s critically injured that will likely not survive the night,” he said.
“That’s why we fought so hard to get that capability and to have that tool available, number one for rescuers’ safety, but also for the community that we serve.”
Having that helicopter available in B.C. around the clock is “invaluable” he added, because you “can’t put a price on a life.”
Meanwhile, Aaron Barnhardt, provincial helicopter specialist for Alberta Wildfire, said the nighttime helicopter has been useful so far. The service wanted to do an extended trial run with the aircraft to determine when it needs such a helicopter long-term.
“What we’ve observed has been positive. It does increase kind of our situational awareness for our daytime staff,” he told Global News.
“Typically at night, humidity goes up, temperature comes down, so suppression efforts are more likely to be successful. It’s been good — to put numbers on that is difficult at this time.”
The helicopter has been used for more than 20 hours of nighttime flight on nine or 10 wildfires this season, he added.
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