The Proprietor Review

A bus used by firefighters from New Mexico,sits in a local motel.
Photo KDG

At one time firefighting was a nuisance  tackled  by the authorities and community . Decades ago a forest fire saw untrained conscripts and people who logged or mined in the bush thrown at a fire in a makeshift way.  today with technology and a closeness of population to possible fire it has become more of a science. and professionals are often sent to help other jurisdictions to deal with overwhelming fires.

The local scene here saw a training facility opened at our airstrip with a capacity of 58 and three classrooms in joins a permanent presence that sees fire fighters trained every summer, often students from college or universities securing employment for the summer. The nearly 5  million dollar facility was opened last September. And echoed the commitment of words by the Forest minister ” we have an international reputation for fire fighting and hit it hard and hit it fast is our modus operandi.”

Lets hope that this a reality this summer as hotter weather is drying out the country side here.

http://infotel.ca/newsitem/new-provincial-training-centre-opens-in-merritt/it4348

Today in History: July 17th 2001

The supersonic Concord returns to service a year after a 2000 crash.