Carrier
1st Aug 2010, 15:41
CBC News - Technology & Science - Water bomber crashes fighting B.C. wildfires (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/07/31/bc-wildfires-spread.html#ixzz0vKTah7Ne)
Waterbomber battling wildfires in BC interior crashes near Lytton - Winnipeg Free Press (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/waterbomber-battling-bc-wildfires-crashes-near-lytton-99706239.html)
VICTORIA - A waterbomber battling wildfires in the B.C. interior has crashed.
Captain Marguerite Dodds-Lepinski, the public affairs officer for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria, said the aircraft was reported down Saturday evening.
Dodds-Lepinski said the crash site was about 18 kilometres south of Lytton.
She said it was believed, but not confirmed, that the watertanker owned by Abbotsford-based Conair had two crewmembers on board. The fate of the air crew is currently unknown.
Dodds-Lepinki said one Cormorant rescue helicopter and one Buffalo fixed-wing aircraft from 19 Wing Comox on Vancouver Island had been dispatched to the crash site approximately 160 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Conair spokesman Rick Pedersen said that the crash occurred just after eight p.m. Pacific time and that investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would soon be headed to the site.
Pedersen, however, said he could not, at this time, release any information concerning the type of aircraft involved, or its crew.
As of Saturday 318 forest fires were burning across B.C., with the largest covering 25 square kilometres.
Air tankers hired by the B.C. Ministry of Forests, along with helicopters and heavy machinery are supporting upwards of 1,000 firefighters on the ground.
Residents are currently under evacuation order or alert in six areas in the Kamloops-area and the Cariboo region.
Due to the tinder dry conditions, a campfire ban extends across about 70 per cent of the province, with violators facing fines from $345 to $1 million and up to three years behind bars.
Waterbomber battling wildfires in BC interior crashes near Lytton - Winnipeg Free Press (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/waterbomber-battling-bc-wildfires-crashes-near-lytton-99706239.html)
VICTORIA - A waterbomber battling wildfires in the B.C. interior has crashed.
Captain Marguerite Dodds-Lepinski, the public affairs officer for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria, said the aircraft was reported down Saturday evening.
Dodds-Lepinski said the crash site was about 18 kilometres south of Lytton.
She said it was believed, but not confirmed, that the watertanker owned by Abbotsford-based Conair had two crewmembers on board. The fate of the air crew is currently unknown.
Dodds-Lepinki said one Cormorant rescue helicopter and one Buffalo fixed-wing aircraft from 19 Wing Comox on Vancouver Island had been dispatched to the crash site approximately 160 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Conair spokesman Rick Pedersen said that the crash occurred just after eight p.m. Pacific time and that investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would soon be headed to the site.
Pedersen, however, said he could not, at this time, release any information concerning the type of aircraft involved, or its crew.
As of Saturday 318 forest fires were burning across B.C., with the largest covering 25 square kilometres.
Air tankers hired by the B.C. Ministry of Forests, along with helicopters and heavy machinery are supporting upwards of 1,000 firefighters on the ground.
Residents are currently under evacuation order or alert in six areas in the Kamloops-area and the Cariboo region.
Due to the tinder dry conditions, a campfire ban extends across about 70 per cent of the province, with violators facing fines from $345 to $1 million and up to three years behind bars.