Reports through BC Wildfire app helps crews respond to new blazes, says Kamloops fire information officer

Kamloops’ fire information officer says they first became aware of the Hullcar Mountain wildfire — which prompted the evacuation of 59 properties Monday — when it was reported to them via the BC Wildfire app.

Taylor Schantz says those reporting used the app to attach photos, which helped crews.

“Attaching photos to your reports helps our operations team make sure that the correct resources are going out to our incidents, and just really gives us a clear picture of what we’re walking into,” Schantz said.

“So we do appreciate people who use our app to report fires as they come across them.”

Schantz says crews have worked through the night on the Hullcar blaze.

“We’ve had three initial attack crews, one rappel crew, two wildfire officers, all in place. So that’s it for personnel,” Shantz said.

“We’ve also had three helicopters, air tankers and air skimmers all actioning this fire, as well as heavy equipment arriving on site. Crews have been able to make good progress and just really mitigate some of that fire behaviour to try and keep it pushing up the hillside. And so yeah, as far as response goes, we’re going to continue to work into the night.”