Kia Ora Koutou,
Welcome to the second newsletter for Bravo deployment to Canada.
Just prior to having two days of well-earned rest, the Bravo contingent was transferred to PWF-077 - a fire some two hours from Worsley camp. This meant a couple of days with a long drive to and from work. The fire was located 130km northwest of the city of Grand Prairie in a forest area close to oil assets and although there was not a lot of active fire there was still plenty of work to do. Worsley camp and surrounds were rich with wildlife. All crews were lucky enough to see moose, whitetail and mule deer, beavers, squirrels and, in some cases, black beer. There was also never a shortage of dragonflys.
Welcome to the second newsletter for Bravo deployment to Canada.
Just prior to having two days of well-earned rest, the Bravo contingent was transferred to PWF-077 - a fire some two hours from Worsley camp. This meant a couple of days with a long drive to and from work. The fire was located 130km northwest of the city of Grand Prairie in a forest area close to oil assets and although there was not a lot of active fire there was still plenty of work to do. Worsley camp and surrounds were rich with wildlife. All crews were lucky enough to see moose, whitetail and mule deer, beavers, squirrels and, in some cases, black beer. There was also never a shortage of dragonflys.
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Wednesday and Thursday (14th & 15th) was two days of much-needed rest and recharging of the batteries. For this, the crews were accommodated in Grand Prairie. This allowed some sleep-ins and sightseeing, along with laundry and shopping. Amongst the sightseeing most crews took time to visit the Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum on the outskirts of town. Little known fact, more than 100 species of dinosaurs have been found in Canada with almost half of theses found in Alberta.
Having spent fourteen days in the forest dealing with fires it was a little surprising that a couple of crews spent time axe throwing, but when in Canada….
Our R&R also aligned with two 19 person teams from across Australia who were at the same hotel, suffice to say there was plenty of trading between all with badges, t shirts and caps being exchanged and some very intense bargaining.
Having spent fourteen days in the forest dealing with fires it was a little surprising that a couple of crews spent time axe throwing, but when in Canada….
Our R&R also aligned with two 19 person teams from across Australia who were at the same hotel, suffice to say there was plenty of trading between all with badges, t shirts and caps being exchanged and some very intense bargaining.
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With R&R complete the crews travelled to the hamlet of Rycroft to allow them to continue on PWF-077. Accommodating at Rycroft cuts travel time down to about 40 minutes which allows for a more productive workday.
The objectives on this fire have been to extinguish remaining hotspots, ensure solid containment line around the perimeter and to remove any trees that would potentially fall across the accessways. The fire was officially designated as “Under Control” (UC) on Monday afternoon, thanks to the continuing hard work of our crews. With the fire now UC, crews will continue to work on hotspots while the Forest Service commences remediation work.
The objectives on this fire have been to extinguish remaining hotspots, ensure solid containment line around the perimeter and to remove any trees that would potentially fall across the accessways. The fire was officially designated as “Under Control” (UC) on Monday afternoon, thanks to the continuing hard work of our crews. With the fire now UC, crews will continue to work on hotspots while the Forest Service commences remediation work.
Our AREP has also been busy ensuring the crews have everything taken care of to allow them to concentrate on the task at hand, along with supporting three Australia resources working across Grand Prairie. On Tuesday, Jason travelled to Edmonton. Jason will now be working out of the Alberta Wildfire Coordination Centre as the Senior Agency Representative. His role in addition to supporting the Bravo crews, will be to coordinate the remaining
Agency Reps in Alberta, assist with role reassignments, demobilisation planning and supporting the International Liaison Officer, based in Winnipeg. Jason will remain in this role until he travels home with the NZ contingent at the end of the month.
Agency Reps in Alberta, assist with role reassignments, demobilisation planning and supporting the International Liaison Officer, based in Winnipeg. Jason will remain in this role until he travels home with the NZ contingent at the end of the month.
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