4 BC Wildfire Service sub-contractors killed in crash west of Kamloops
Posted September 20, 2023 1:00 pm.
Last Updated September 20, 2023 5:17 pm.
Four wildfire fighters have died after the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a semi-truck near Cache Creek around 2 a.m. Tuesday, Ashcroft RCMP has announced.
Police say the four individuals, who were sub-contractors with the service on their way home after assisting with fire suppression efforts, were pronounced dead on the scene, approximately one kilometre west of Juniper Beach Provincial Park on Highway 1 near Walhachin, B.C.
When crews first arrived, they found the semi-truck had caught on fire. The driver had been able to escape before it was engulfed.
Mounties say initial investigations have found the firefighters’ vehicle, a Ford F-350 pick-up truck, failed to navigate a bend in the road when it crossed the centre line and collided with the semi-truck head-on.
“This year has been particularly challenging for the BC Wildfire Service, with several of its members facing injuries or losing their lives,” said Corp. James Grandy, spokesperson for the BC RCMP Southeast District. “Our thoughts are with the friends and family of those who help keep our province safe.”
Highway 1 was initially closed in both directions after the collision but has since reopened.
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B.C. Premier David Eby and Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston released a statement calling the news “devastating.”
“We stand with wildfire fighters and all BC Wildfire Service personnel as they mourn the death of colleagues and co-workers yet again,” the statement said.
“Firefighters are on the front lines in so many parts of B.C., creating hope from despair and working tirelessly to save lives and livelihoods.
“Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude.”
“It’s just been such a tough season, this is just more bad news. It’s emotional, wrenching, and heartbreaking to hear people who completed their work [and are] on their way home meet with their deaths on the road. It’s really tragic,” Ralston added during a media availability in Vancouver.
Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of B.C., released a statement regarding the tragic collision on Tuesday afternoon.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult wildfire season in British Columbia,” she said. “To lose more British Columbians under these already challenging circumstances is devastating.”
A statement from the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia: pic.twitter.com/zCKp3Fates
— Janet Austin (@LGJanetAustin) September 20, 2023
The BC Wildfire Service says it is working with both the BC Coroners Service and BC Highway Patrol’s Collision Reconstructionist to investigate the incident.
Ralston says the service will address rules and guidelines around getting on the road after an exhausting period of time as part of the investigation, but notes the firefighters in the crash being contractors puts them in a “different position.”
