One of the comments coming out of the Town Hall Meeting held back in November, where members of the public were invited to comment on the response to the West Kiskatinaw Fire, was the lack of ability for locals to help out.
Specifically, local businesses with equipment that was on-site and could have been brought in to support the firefighting efforts, were left sitting on the sidelines.
But according to the District’s most recent Invest Tumbler Ridge Newsletter, now is the time for businesses wanting to help.
“Local contractors: It’s that time of year to register equipment and local services to support wildfire management in the area,” says the newsletter. “Contractors can register with the BC Wildfire Service through the Request for Standing Arrangement competitions (RSAs) that are regularly posted to BC Bid. Once contractors are accepted and issued a Standing Arrangement, Service Requests will be issued for emergency work based on a nearest/best resource methodology.”
The Province regularly calls on the services of contractors to support the delivery of cost effective and efficient wildfire management in British Columbia, says the Province’s website.
“The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) uses a range of equipment from high pressure water pumps, ATVs, rock trucks and skidders in support of fire operations. Most equipment is hired prior to and early in the fire season (March-May) by the local Fire Center(s). To supply equipment listed in the BCWS Equipment Rates below, equipment owners should contact their local fire centre to be registered for ‘as and when required’ work.”
According to the province’s website, while fire centres will register equipment owners throughout the fire season, most equipment rental agreements are issued between March-May each year.
To sign up, go to www2.gov.bc.ca and search for “Wildfire Contract Opportunities.”
Above Photo, from the Archives July 2023: Hours after it was discovered, the West Kiskatinaw Fire was already burning thousands of hectares.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.