Kelowna Fire-2003
One Trestle Saved:
Rick’s Turning Point
BC Forestry issued a request to Alberta Forestry for additional wildfire support during the Kelowna fire response.
- Firefox Wildfire was brought in to assist with suppression efforts and help defend the historic Kettle Valley Trestles. By the time crews arrived, the fire had already advanced significantly, limiting access to much of the area and placing several trestles at risk.
- The potential losses to the trestles were estimated at nearly $20 million. However, through coordinated suppression planning and the deployment of Fire Gel technology, Firefox Wildfire successfully helped protect Trestle 1 from destruction.
- The effectiveness of the Fire Gel application attracted significant attention during the operation. Incident command personnel later introduced Firefox Wildfire to multiple Fire Gel manufacturers who had gathered at the site during the wildfire response.
- Following the deployment, additional Fire Gel products were tested and evaluated to further improve wildfire suppression capabilities.
Comments were that the Gel was realy impressive. He had never seen anything like that before.
He introduced Firefox to FP Innovations, and recommended that Gel get tested for use in Alberta.