Military airlifting supplies from Vancouver Island to fight wildfires in B.C. Interior
A military airlift is underway to ferry trucks and firefighting equipment from Vancouver Island to the B.C. Interior, where hundreds of wildfires continue to force residents from their homes.
A Hercules cargo plane made multiple trips Friday from Canadian Forces Base Comox to Kamloops, B.C., delivering wildfire trucks and much-needed supplies to firefighters and military personnel on the ground.
British Columbia’s emergency management office estimated there were more than 300 wildfires burning in the province Friday afternoon, forcing thousands to flee and putting thousands more on alert to leave at a moment’s notice.
At least four trucks from the Coastal Fire Centre, two mobile headquarters shelters and a pair of lighting trailers were aboard the Royal Canadian Air Force cargo plane as it touched down in Kamloops.
During one delivery, the transport craft spent mere minutes unloading on the Tarmac before departing again to gather more equipment and resources from Vancouver Island, which has been spared any significant wildfires so far this season.
The military has been tasked with airlifting supplies into and around the B.C. Interior as fires threaten to impair major roadways in the region.
A pair of Griffon helicopters from Alberta and two Chinook transport helicopters from Petawawa, Ont., are also in Kamloops to assist in the wildfire relief efforts and evacuations, if necessary.
At the Kamloops airport where approximately 50 military personnel are now deployed, Maj. David Wood said the Hercules cargo plane was brought in when the BC Wildfire Service requested equipment that “we couldn’t handle with the helicopters that we have on the ground.”
The military was deployed to central B.C. to aid in the wildfire response on July 4 and is currently scheduled to remain until at least July 19.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.