The BC Wildfire Service has received a lot of public criticism over resource allocation this fire season.
People living west of Prince George have arguably been the most outspoken, saying the provincial forest fighting body hasn’t deployed enough resources to small and remote communities throughout BC.
Coulson Aviation, based out of Port Alberni, has contracted out three C-130 aircraft to help in the firefighting efforts in California and many British Columbians feel that the province needs to contract out more aircraft.
However, Provincial Fire Information Officer Kyla Fraser said the C-130’s aren’t registered in Canada and aren’t being used by the US Forest Service and therefore, unavailable for use here.
The BC Wildfire Service has 24 aircraft, eight birddogs, which serve as spotters for the airtankers and sixteen airtankers.
The famous Martin Mars was retired in 2015.
