Dear Editor,
To our firefighters: This is to honour and recognize those firefighters who are on the front lines. Fighting the wildfires in the Okanagan, the Wood Lake fire near Harrison Lake and in the western states of the U.
Of those three firefighters who lost their lives in Twisp, Okanagan County, eastern Washington State. And to those 10-15 firefighters down in Arizona some years ago who lost their lives.
It is not an easy task to fight wildfires. You're carrying about 50 lb. of gear, in triple digit fahrenheit temperatures, unpredictable high winds that could change direction at any moment, very dry tender conditions, 12 hour shifts.
Years agoI fought the San Bernardino wildfire in SW California. The winds suddenly shifted, the wildfire was comping towards us at an incredible speed. We made a ad dash for the firetruck, climbed in and prayed. The fire raged all around us. When it was over, the firetruck was scorched in places and all the tires were blown. We were lucky to be alive.
Harvey Andrew
Agassiz, BC