By Canadian Press

BC Wildfire Service crew member dies near Revelstoke while responding to wildfire

Jul 14, 2023 | 9:07 AM

VICTORIA — The B.C. government is confirming the death of a firefighter who was responding to a wildfire near Revelstoke.

A statement from Premier David Eby issued late Thursday offers his condolences.

Calling it a “tremendous loss for everyone involved with the BC Wildfire Service at an already challenging time,” the statement goes on to say the tragedy serves as a heartbreaking reminder that firefighters are often putting their lives on the line to keep people and communities safe.

The statement offers condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the unnamed woman on behalf of all British Columbians.

The death comes as the province puts out a call for national and international help to fight the 350 or so fires burning across B.C.

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Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma says the province has requested 1,000 additional foreign firefighters to join 160 from Mexico and the United States already in B.C., as well as more federal resources.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the death of a wildland firefighter in British Columbia is “heartbreaking,” and he sends his deepest condolences to the woman’s family, friends and fellow firefighters.

Her death is the fourth linked to B.C. wildfires since 2010.

Sixty-year-old John Phare was killed in 2015 while working on a blaze on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, and two Conair airtanker pilots, Tim Whiting and Brian Tilley, died when their plane went down south of Lytton in July, 2010.

The latest death comes as the BC Wildfire Service says tens of thousands of lightning strikes over the last seven days have sparked hundreds of new fires in British Columbia, but with temperatures closer to average and some rain expected next week, a slight reprieve might be on the way.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2023.

The Canadian Press