public service announcement: if you have cell service and see a fire, call *5555 on your cell instead of 911. This is to get the 24/7 call centre for BC Wildfire. (Anyone old enough to remember the Zeith 5555 adverts? This is literally how I remembered the cell number when I saw a fire on a hillside in the Kamloops are about 6 week ago.)
A friendly person at the call centre will ask the following information (approximate info will work):
location - closest landmark, intersection, etc
size - size of a house? football field?
rate of spread - is it whipping up a hill side or just kind of sitting while you are looking at it?
fuel - what is the fire burning in? Mature forest? young trees? deciduous trees like aspen or conifers like pine? grass?
smoke/flame - is the smoke white or black? can you see flames?
threat - are there any residential areas, buildings, infrastructure like roads or hydro lines at risk?
action - can you see anyone working on the fire to put it out?
weather - this one isn't in the link below, but I was asked what the weather was (storms? blue skies? wind? temperature?)
Your information is forwarded to BC Wildfire staff and they will follow up with you if necessary. (i.e. you're the first to report, and to confirm any conflicting info they may have). I also received a call from a Natural Resource Officer the following day to go through the information as part of their investigation (the fire I saw was very likely human caused).
Want to take a moment to appreciate what's shaping up to be an excellent theatre year in PG. Not only are we getting Come From Away and Sweeney Todd, but the 2024-25 Theatre Northwest program is absolutely stacked.
public service announcement: if you have cell service and see a fire, call *5555 on your cell instead of 911. This is to get the 24/7 call centre for BC Wildfire. (Anyone old enough to remember the Zeith 5555 adverts? This is literally how I remembered the cell number when I saw a fire on a hillside in the Kamloops are about 6 week ago.)
A friendly person at the call centre will ask the following information (approximate info will work):
location - closest landmark, intersection, etc
size - size of a house? football field?
rate of spread - is it whipping up a hill side or just kind of sitting while you are looking at it?
fuel - what is the fire burning in? Mature forest? young trees? deciduous trees like aspen or conifers like pine? grass?
smoke/flame - is the smoke white or black? can you see flames?
threat - are there any residential areas, buildings, infrastructure like roads or hydro lines at risk?
action - can you see anyone working on the fire to put it out?
weather - this one isn't in the link below, but I was asked what the weather was (storms? blue skies? wind? temperature?)
Your information is forwarded to BC Wildfire staff and they will follow up with you if necessary. (i.e. you're the first to report, and to confirm any conflicting info they may have). I also received a call from a Natural Resource Officer the following day to go through the information as part of their investigation (the fire I saw was very likely human caused).
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/contact-channels/report-a-wildfire
Want to take a moment to appreciate what's shaping up to be an excellent theatre year in PG. Not only are we getting Come From Away and Sweeney Todd, but the 2024-25 Theatre Northwest program is absolutely stacked.