As of Tuesday, 437 wildfire workers are working to contain the Keremeos Creek wildfire, but in between fighting the blaze, crew members Calling Oliver Airport, British Columbia home.
A makeshift camp was set up last week as a concentration point for all crew members.
"It's a simple life. We live outside the camps," said Mikhail Elsay, information officer for the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).
“The airport is very convenient for us because it is connected to the city sewer and the city water supply. When we're in rural areas, we struggle to bring basic equipment to the scene, but when we're here at the airport, it comes with it."
Some pitching. Alongside the tents, the base has laundry and kitchen facilities, a car wash with bathrooms and showers, additional equipment, and an office trailer for the Incident Management Team.
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Read More: Keremeos Creek Wildfire: Highway 3A is still closed and it is getting cooler
We do an incredible job of making sure that we have everything we need to do our job,” Elsay said.
Camps are busy places where crew rest and travel with helicopters and heavy equipment.
Firefighters on the day shift typically wake up between 4:00 and 5:00 am, eat breakfast, and then head out to the fire late into the night.
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Meanwhile, a firefighter on the night duty is in one of his hangars at the airport, in a cold climate. It serves as a sleeping space. Day.
As of Monday, 256 wildland firefighters and 157 structural protection personnel have been assigned to the Keremeos Creek wildfire, and the camp is near capacity.
Bringing in more. That way, we'll have more bathrooms, more car washes, and more capacity to cook more food in the area," Elsay said.
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Once the crew has packed, the BC Wildfire Service will have little or no long-term impact on where the base is located. , or stated that they did not want to leave at all. Why commercial facilities such as airports are ideal.
"When you use fields that are also used for industry, ranching and agriculture, the ground is devastated and has lasting effects," he says.
The BC Wildfire Service and the town of Oliver are asking the public to stay clear of the camp. This includes the area between Airport Street and Road 2.
BC Wildfire requires that traffic in this area be for essential use only.