B.C. Wildfire crew members (left) and a member of the Alaska Smoke Jumpers (right) chat during a pause in burning operations on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
Wildfire staff across British Columbia headed into the weekend grappling with the first death of a colleague in eight seasons while preparing for a forecast of rain – but also lightning and wind – set to hit some of the most drought-stricken areas of the province.
Devyn Gale, a 19-year-old firefighter, died Thursday from a falling tree near her hometown of Revelstoke.Nolan Gale/Supplied
Devyn Gale, a 19-year-old firefighter, died Thursday from a falling tree near her hometown of Revelstoke, shaking the province and prompting condolences from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier David Eby and other politicians.
While her colleagues with the B.C. Wildfire Service posted on social media about her loss, the agency braced for another volatile weekend after 51,000 lightning strikes and 399 wildfires started over the past week in a province facing extreme drought conditions.
Emergencies Minister Bill Blair said Friday that federal assistance including military resources are being mobilized to help British Columbia’s fight against wildfires.
The central and northeast parts of the province that have been heavily affected by wildfires in recent weeks may see some precipitation over the weekend, but drought will persist in these areas, said wildfire information officer Nic Kokolski on Friday.
Mx. Kokolski said rising humidity and lowering temperatures will dampen fire activity in many regions, but the rainfall will be accompanied by more thundershowers in the northeast.
“Additionally, on Sunday and Monday, we can anticipate high winds into the southern three quarters of the province, accompanied by warmer temperatures, which will feed our existing fires,” Mx. Kokolski said.
As of Friday, 357 wildfires are active in B.C., more than half of which remain out of control. Thirty of Canada’s 48 new wildfires, which began overnight, were ignited in British Columbia, according to the latest situation report from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
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B.C. Emergency Management and Climate Change Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma said in a statement Friday that it’s incredibly difficult for people in affected areas. She urged residents to take the time to create an emergency plan and pack a grab-and-go bag.
“We are anticipating continued extreme fire behaviour and all of us need to do our part to prevent the situation from becoming any worse, no matter where you are in the province,” her statement reads.
The BC Wildfire Service says lighting is trigging new fires with 1.2-million hectares already burned so far this year. There's little reprieve expected over the next 10 days with the weather forecast to stay hot and dry.
The Globe and Mail
A day prior, Ms. Ma and provincial officials said they were working with local governments to help restrict the public’s water usage to fight drought conditions that are making wildfires easier to ignite.
With more than two thirds of the province’s rivers experiencing high to extreme levels of drought, the province signalled this week that industries other than the oil and gas sector in the northeast might soon face bans on their water usage.
Ms. Gale’s death came as the province put out a call for national and international help to fight the hundreds of active fires across B.C.
The province has requested 1,000 additional foreign firefighters to join 160 from Mexico and the United States already in B.C., as well as more federal resources, Ms. Ma said Thursday.
Ms. Gale was a former member of the B.C. gymnastics team, a star pupil at her high school in Revelstoke and had been fighting wildfires since at least August, 2021, according to her posts on social media.
Her brother Nolan Gale said in an Instagram post that his sister was “kind and thoughtful,” and he’s grateful to have grown up alongside her.
“Devyn was an amazing sister,” Mr. Gale posted. “She was smarter and better at what she did than she gave herself credit for. “She truly didn’t deserve this.”
Revelstoke RCMP said the firefighter was working on brush-clearing in a remote area where a fire had started, when her team lost contact with her before finding her pinned under a fallen tree. They immediately gave her first aid, but she succumbed to her injuries after being airlifted to a hospital in Revelstoke.
The Revelstoke RCMP said the death is now under investigation by police, the BC Coroners Service, WorkSafeBC, as well as the BC Wildfire Service.
Ms. Gale is the fourth firefighter whose death was linked to B.C. wildfires since 2010. Sixty-year-old John Phare was killed in 2015 while working on a blaze on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, and two Conair airtanker pilots, Tim Whiting and Brian Tilley, died when their plane went down south of Lytton in July of 2010.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the death was “heartbreaking,” offering condolences to the firefighter’s family, friends and fellow firefighters. “We must never forget the risks these heroes take every time they run toward the danger,” Mr. Trudeau’s statement said.
Mr. Eby’s statement called the firefighter’s death a “tremendous loss for everyone involved with the BC Wildfire Service at an already challenging time.”
With reports from The Canadian Press