A second wildfire fighter has lost their lives while trying to suppress BC’s record setting flames.
Earlier in July, a young British Columbian named Devyn Gale lost her life while fighting a fire near Revelstoke and now, a young man from Ontario has lost his life to the province’s largest wildfire ever recorded.
The man’s name has not been released at the time of this publication, but in a statement, BC RCMP say he was just 25-years-old and had been contracted by the BC Wildfire Service to aid in fighting the Donnie Creek wildfire near Fort St. John in northeast BC.
Just before 11 a.m. on July 28th, he was working in a remote location around 150 kilometres from Fort St. John.
Police say his Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) rolled over on a steep drop. He suffered serious, life-threatening injuries from the rollover and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital but he succumbed to his wounds while en route.
The RCMP, BC Coroners Service, WorkSafeBC and the BC Wildfire Service say they will all be investigating the circumstances which led to his tragic demise.
On Saturday, July 29th, Premier Eby released a statement regarding the passing of the young Ontario man’s death.
“I am devastated to learn that we have lost another wildfire fighter. My heart goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of this front-line hero,” said Premier Eby. “On behalf of all British Columbians, we grieve this terrible news with you.”
“This tragic news, coming so soon after the death of Devyn Gale, has shaken people throughout BC and is devastating for so many of those in the woods bravely fighting wildfires right now.”
“Every worker expects and deserves to return home safely to family and friends,” he added.
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Eby also spoke to how extreme the province’s wildfire situation has become.
The Donnie Creek wildfire is now the largest recorded wildfire in BC’s history having burned a total of over 583,000 hectares of land.
Its gargantuan size is equivalent to over eight times the size of the Capital Regional District as a whole.
A lightning strike is the suspected cause of this fire which has been classified as ‘out of control’ since it was discovered on May 12th.
The total number of wildfires in BC has gone down over the last week as it peaked at nearly 500 active fires — as of this publication, there are 365 active wildfires.
