During the L.A. wildfires last month 23 B.C. Wildfire firefighters were deployed to help assist in fire suppression. Among them was Josh Wilkinson, the 100 Mile Stomriders unit crew leader.
For 21 days, Wilkinson helped fight and extinguish the Eaton Fire and the Hughes Fire. While it was challenging work, especially with the abundance of wildland and community interface in the L.A. region, he said it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"It felt almost similar to Kamloops what you would see with the grass and sage. Down there they are a little more advanced with the fuel type. We got six-foot-high chaparral which is a plant that grows super thick and is a very flashy fuel. It was nothing I hadn't seen before but definitely on a larger scale."
Wilkinson has been the leader of the Stormriders for three years now and first got his start firefighting nine years ago. He said his dad and brother were firefighters also so becoming one himself just seemed the right thing to do.
Wilkinson noted he loves the dedication everyone within the fire service has for their job and the ability it gives him to go anywhere in B.C. and beyond to help out. As crew supervisor Wilkinson said these days his primary role is to watch the new and upcoming firefighters develop and become professionals.
When the L.A. wildfires kicked off at the beginning of the year, Wilkinson said B.C. Wildfire asked him and other full-time unit crew leaders across the province if they wanted to go down and help out. Enough of them agreed that were able to form a 22-strong unit crew, all made up of crew supervisors like Wilkinson.
"Being able to go down and help give a bit of a break to those firefighters down there (was important). I've worked busy fire seasons and I know how it is to be constantly on the go," Wilkinson remarked. "Taking some time off is definitely well deserved, especially with how they have their wildlife season down there. It's very long and never seems to be ending, so it was nice to go down and provide that relief for a few days for those crews down there."
Wilkinson said he and the others left on Jan. 13 to go to L.A. driving down over three days. Along the way, they stopped off in Bakersfield, California for some basic training on how Cal Fire operates, including the use of portable fire shelters.
"After that, we got a pretty good briefing on the weather systems and fuel types that we would be seeing within the southern California area. Basic fire behaviour, what's normal and what's not normal," Wilkinson said. "Not being normal would be they are experiencing a very dry winter right now. Normally they'd be in a rainy season but they have been experiencing very little rain."
Once they were deployed Wilkinson said the unit was split up into different crews. He served as one of the crew leaders of a group of four and was responsible for briefing them each morning and getting them prepared for whatever they were doing, whether that was helping to contain a new start like when they responded to the Hughes Fire or when they helped clean up the Eaton Wildfire.
Wilkinson said that while deployed he noticed that Cal Fire favours a more aggressive style of firefighting. He also noted their hand crews tend to stick together in pairs while fighting fires, while in B.C. crews tend to spread out to cover more ground.
"They're more or less stuck together while up here we split our crews up a bit just to complete more objectives. Because of how many resources they have down there available to them they're able to stick together," Wilkinson said. "Tactics change with the needs of the location, obviously."
While there Wilkinson remarked the Californian firefighters were happy to see them and excited to show them their tactics and knowledge. He noted some of them have come to B.C. to help out and learn in the past, so it was nice to return the favour this year.
The most rewarding part of the experience for Wilkinson, outside of helping stop the fires, was the fact he got to spend time with so many fellow unit crew leaders. He noted he doesn't usually get the chance to work one-on-one with them like he did for the last month.
"To be on a crew with them and overcome challenges and build a good team atmosphere with them. To bring those relationships with those folks I don't normally get to see in the summer (was great)," Wilkinson remarked, adding they also got to bring home some tactics to use in future wildfire seasons.
"I think the ability to go down and continue to build the relationship with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service as well is a huge plus. It's awesome to be able to help those guys out across the border."
