Fire Fighting in Canada

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Lightning causes several B.C. blazes

July 3, 2008, Vancouver - As many as 150 new forest fires are burning in B.C. after a series of lightning storms swept over the southern and central Interior.

July 3, 2008 
By The Canadian Press



Most of the fires are small but provincial fire information officer Kim Steinbart says a few are still being targeted with an initial attack crew of three people.


She says fire assessment teams take into consideration location, proximity to homes or property and the manpower available when they prioritize fire resources.


Steinbart says they also consider whether the fire is burning in pine-beetle infested forest because those fires tend to burn hotter and faster.


A 20-person crew is battling a four-hectare fire sparked by lightning in Gillard Creek in South Okanagan Mountain Park.

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Three helicopters, a rappel crew and 60 firefighters are trying to stamp out the largest fire burning in the province, the 55-hectare blaze on Jackass Mountain, south of Lytton.


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