I agree with Mr. Trudell’s suggestion regarding adapting military helicopters to fight forest fires. Unfortunately, our armed forces are in such a sorry state of neglect that out of 25 nations participating in a two-week-long “Air Defender” exercise in Germany, the largest deployment exercise in NATO’S history, including little countries like Bulgaria, Latvia and even two non-NATO nations Japan and Sweden, Canada is embarrassingly absent.
During the heat dome of June 2021 that engulfed most of B.C. including southern Vancouver Island a small group of concerned residents from Dean Park Estates came together to propose the closing of John Dean Provincial Park (LAU,WELNEW) to vehicular traffic after a month-long survey revealed substantial amounts of cigarette butts were being discarded along the access road, parking lot, viewpoints, and near vital communications equipment including Coast Guard radar, airport radar, E-com communications and fire suppression equipment.
The group expressed their findings to the appropriate government departments including BC Parks only to be met with an attitude of indifference. As a result, little action was taken and the park remained open to vehicular traffic for the remainder of the summer of 2021. During our consultations with BC Parks, when asking about what air support was available during a fire, we were advised that there was one helicopter stationed at Mill Bay plus a water bomber at Abbotsford airport.
Like Canada’s absence from the NATO exercise, Mr. Trudell’s suggestion will likely fall on deaf ears until there is a change in policies and direction in both provincial and federal politics, or worse a catastrophic fire in Dean Park.
Robin Chown, RAF veteran
North Saanich
