Cheers of encouragement rang out above all the heaving, thudding and digging in Merritt’s backcountry as new firefighters proved they have what it takes to fight B.C.’s blazes all summer long.
May 9 marked the final push for a group of determined men and women who travelled from across the province to take on one of the BC Wildfire Service’s gruelling eight-day boot camps.
Over 200 new recruits flock to Merritt each year to prepare for wildfire season, before they are sent to work across the province.
As this year’s recruits were busy digging fire guards, hauling gear up and down a 100-metre hill, setting up pumps and extinguishing small fires, camp organizer and wildfire technician Kyle Young said there is no end to the skills these fresh faces will learn over the course of the week.
Camp organizer Kyle Young explains what brings him back to the camps year after year as new recruits haul gear in the background. (Dara Hill/Herald).
Pushing past challenges is at the core of it all, he said.
“Being able to get to a place that they didn’t know they could get to physically and mentally, that is kind of what boot camp is about — showing them that they can get further than they thought they could get,” Young said. “And that is where the teamwork comes in. A group of people who are all coming together, they can push beyond what they thought as a group, and that is pretty special.”
Building camaraderie is at the heart of BC Wildfire Service training camps. (Dara Hill/Herald).
This is Young’s 13th year running the camps. Watching groups come together over the course of the week-long training is still his favourite part, he said.
“I went to boot camp in 2005, I still have friends that I work with and keep that friendship. It’s probably the most special part,” he said.
Each new recruit is unique, and diversity is what makes the groups so strong, Young said.
“I think that is the best part of the this job. There isn’t set traits or set characteristics — everyone brings something different to the table,” he said.
Kate Healy is one of the 210 new recruits preparing to join the BC Wildfire Service this year. She said her decision to join “could not have been more spontaneous.”
“I’m a psychology major in school — this is so far outside of anything I ever saw myself doing,” she said. “I was really nervous coming in, I wasn’t sure how many females there were going to be, what that was going to look like, but we haven’t had to demand respect — it has been very equal off the bat, it’s been awesome.”
Kate Healy was all smiles as she took a quick break between field training exercises. (Dara Hill/Herald).
She said the team dynamic exceeded her expectations, which were already “insanely high.”
“It’s crazy — six days and they are so beyond acquaintances and friends — it’s literally family,” she said. “I think when you go through this, these people see you at your worst right off the bat and there is something about collectively working through really challenging situations that just strips away everything and makes you so close.”
Healy is originally from Vernon, but hopes to be put to work in Revelstoke this summer.
Victoria native Guy Cullen was encouraged to join the crew by his two cousins who have gone through the program and knew Cullen had what it takes to fight wildfires too.
He’s glad he did, he said, though he admitted the physical demands of the camp are high.
“I did keep myself in pretty good shape, but they really push you,” he said.
While the physical demands of camp are high, they’re not too much for Victoria native Guy Cullen (Dara Hill/Herald).
Cullen said he’s eager to keep putting his skills to the test after boot camp is over, hopefully in Fort St. John where his cousins live.
Field days have been highlights of the week for Cullen.
“Just being put in those situations for the first time, it’s like any job where you are better off just to learn hands-on than to just read about it,” he said. “It’s the hands-on learning that makes the difference.”
