As extreme drought conditions continue throughout the province of British Columbia, residents in the Okanagan grow more concerned about new wildfires every day. After a grass fire at a slope above Kalamalka Lake on the previous day and the following night, smoke was spotted a few miles west of Becker Lake. High winds ignited a spot fire to to a blaze of several hectares. Air tankers and helicopters from Kamloops and Vernon fought the wildfire for most of the day. All photos and the short video were taken free-handed with Panasonic’s Lumix DMC FZ300 at maximum focal length of 600 mm.
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| ▲ Wildfire smoke seen billowing above Vernon Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/8 > Shutter: 1/320 |
▲ Strong winds whip the fire north Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/8 > Shutter: 1/320 |
▲ Conair aerial tanker 566 circling above Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/8 > Shutter: 1/320 |
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| ▲ A Kaman K-MAX helicopter in bucketing Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/3.2 > Shutter: 1/1300 |
Conair air tanker 566 dropping retardant Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/8 > Shutter: 1/320 |
▲ A Kaman K-MAX helicopter in action Camera: Lumix DMC FZ300 Aperture: f/3.2 > Shutter: 1/1300 |
On Saturday afternoon (2021-07-10), the BC Wildfire Service had 26 personnel on scene fighting the Becker Lake wildfire, alongside with 4 helicopters and air tanker support. At the time of this report, the fire was still classified as out of control and it encompassed a size of approximately 10 hectares.
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.With the ever growing danger of wildfire to people and properties, the importance of preparing and mitigating for such catastrophic events can’t be overstated. Home owners can do a lot to greatly reduce the risk of loosing their property in a wildfire event. FireSmart is a national program that is designed to reduce interface fire risk to communities. Download the “FireSmart Begins At Home Guide (PDF)” today. This 32 page manual outlines the FireSmart program and how each homeowner can make their property and neighbourhood FireSmart.