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DRY RUN
Mock wildfire provides real lessons for first responders BRENT RICHTER
brichter@nsnews.com
It’s a scenario that’s tantamount to a waking nightmare on the North Shore: Conditions have been hot and dry all summer when a tree branch comes down on the power lines at the base of Grouse Mountain, sparking a wildfire.
It’s quickly spreading up the face of the mountain and down into residential neighbourhoods below. Beyond tackling the blaze itself, crews will need to evacuate Grouse Mountain, the trails and, quite possibly, the Grousewoods and Canyon Heights areas too. “The first day is a bit of a mess. We’re really scrambling to get as much done as we can, calling in other resources, and the fire spreads uphill very quickly,” says Matt Ciolfi, lead instructor of District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services wildfire program and organizer of Operation Peak Preparedness, a mock wildfire exercise carried out on May 13. As Ciolfi pores over a giant map of the area with the local and visiting unit leaders from 25 agencies and fire departments from around the province, he notes where they will Continued on A23
Gibsons & District Volunteer Fire Department member Steve Hughes trains a hose on a hotspot during a wildfire training exercise near North Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain last week. BRENT RICHTER / NSN
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