(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

We suffer from wildfires almost every Summer here in the Okanagan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we really know wildfires. We - and by that I mean the vast majority of us - tend to underestimate, for example, how quickly wildfires can turn from a distant threat into an immediate deadly encounter.

The fires in Kelowna and West Kelowna forced more than 35,000 people to evacuate their homes and destroyed more than 200 structures. No lives were lost…but that doesn’t mean people didn’t live through some harrowing moments.

Years ago as a young journalist, I wrote about wildfire fighters in Moscow, Idaho. They were a brave - if not slightly crazy - group of men. Now their ranks include women…who as it turns out are among the best at what they do…and what they do is impressive.

Smoke Jumpers - along with Hotshots and Rappellers - are the Special Forces of the army that fights the war against wildfires every year. Hotshot crew members - 20 to 22 well-conditioned, knowledgeable and experienced firefighters - attack the hottest parts of a fire. Rappellers drop from helicopters and are among the first on-scene fighters…at the battle’s front lines. And think of Smoke Jumpers as infantry paratroopers…who drop behind enemy lines and plan counter-offensives.

Together these folks fight in conditions every bit as dangerous as military combat. They carry packs of equipment that can weigh upwards of 110 pounds…and often hike more than eight miles over tough terrain in an environment that is as far from hospitable as you can get.

Those years ago, when I was young and in excellent physical condition, I discovered in three days just how challenging it is to fight a wildfire. I rappelled from a helicopter that first day and observed up close what these folks do…for a living.

I’ll never forget the train-like roar of that first approaching fire…the heat that you can feel even through a Nomex shirt and pants…and how with incredible speed a wildfire can close in on you.

My “buddy” for those three days was a professional firefighter…a fellow about my age named Kenny Benson…and I’ll never forget as we landed in the middle of nowhere - actually northern Idaho - that August day, he cautioned me: “I want you to be my shadow…move when I move.”

He warned me that unless I could run a sub-four-minute mile over mountainous terrain…I should stick close and listen to his every word. I once ran a mile on a flat oval track in six minutes and 35 seconds…and thought I was dying. So, I was rarely more than a few feet from Kenny the entire time.

Cell phones didn’t exist back then…our life line was a walkie-talkie…a two-way radio that to me seemed no more reliable than two tin cans and a string. He handed the walkie-talkie to me as we started our trek and said, “Don’t lose it!”

I could smell the smoke but didn’t see actual fire for almost two hours into our day. Then, I heard it before I saw it. Keeping up with Kenny proved my most immediate challenge…the guy could move. All of a sudden, we took a hard right and picked up the pace. It was about then I began regretting my initial zeal in “shadowing” a wildfire fighter.

I heard the fire…a train-like roar in the distance behind us and to our left. Kenny said, “We need to get to that ridge…quickly.” It seemed like climbing Mount Everest…but adrenaline and fear kicked in…making up for endurance.

Twenty minutes later and completely breathless, at the top of the ridge we looked down and saw a wall of flame a half-mile away pushed by strong winds…drawing in oxygen that further fed the flames. Trees on the perimeter of the fire seemed to burst into flames all at once. It was scary, but I noticed Kenny didn’t seem worried. He took the walkie-talkie and with map in hand, called in coordinates of the fire’s new front…and where we were headed.

There was no helicopter pickup. We eventually hiked more than two hours to a road that Kenny somehow found where a truck picked us up and took us back to camp. Later, when I was completely safe, it struck me…if the wind had shifted…would we have not made that ridge?

It was a 13-hour day. Unlike leisure camping…there was no drinking, sitting around and laughing or telling stories. After what passed for dinner, Kenny advised me to get some rest.

“It starts all over in eight hours…maybe sooner,” he said. I stuck with Kenny for two more days…some of the most physical…demanding hours I’ve ever spent. I discovered these guys - much like soldiers in combat - cared for each other…they had brutal, even dark senses of humour…and they knew exactly what they had to do and when to do it to make the mission a success.

Wildfires like the ones in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Yellowknife and thousands of other places in Canada and around the world are the new normal. The previous record for forestland lost in Canada to wildfire was 7.6 million hectares in 1989. This year, Canada has already set a new record…15.4 million hectares lost to fire…that’s more than 37 million acres.

We’ve encroached on forestland that used to be remote. Canada has three times as many people living here as the year I was born. More people means more fires…fully 85 percent to 90 percent of wildfires are not natural disasters caused by lightning…they’re caused by humans…careless campers and smokers. And climate change…it’s real…and no doubt garners new believers with every home lost to wildfires.

These modern day warriors - those men and women who fight wildfires for a living - are not necessarily that visible in our day-to-day lives. But if and when you see one, go out of your way to thank them. Truly, they are heroes, and we need heroes more than ever.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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