Wildfire air tankers return to Penticton, B.C. ahead of wildfire season
Global News
According to BC Wildfire Service, the Penticton tanker base is the second busiest base in the province after Kamloops, based on retardant usage.
Wildfire-fighting air tankers have landed at Penticton Regional Airport ahead of wildfire season.
The Penticton, B.C., tanker group was dispatched on Saturday and will remain at the airport until early September or until they are no longer needed.
“This is generally around when they start to arrive. We have eight air tanker bases across the province, and this is one of the bases. There are three planes there and 28 across the province,” said BC Wildfire Service information officer Karley Desrosiers.
According to BC Wildfire Service, the Penticton tanker base is the second busiest base in the province after Kamloops, based on retardant usage.
The three tankers that are stationed at the base are ready to serve the entire region when necessary.
“They are a provincial resource, so all 28 air tankers travel to where support is needed. They could go as far as northern B.C., but also northern air tanker groups will come support in the Okanagan area,” said Desrosiers.
“There isn’t a defined boundary in which they stay and often there will be other air tanker groups that stop by to fuel up and get more retardant.”
Desrosiers said that the wildfire season is off to a relatively slow start. So far this year there have been 100 fires burning roughly 365 hectares compared to 176 fires and around 2075 hectares burned this time last year.