Recent content by foresterab

https://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation_fire/Fire-Maps/fireview/fireview.html 35,000 ha burnt from a fire in 3 days. That one (WE010) has had some momentum going :(. Hate being in the smoke like that...hoping we get some wind shifts (and reduced wind speed) soon.

I've spent nights in arenas...and they're okay if nothing else is available. But like you I was thinking shelter areas where - for example - a series of ranger tents and cots could be set up (beats sleeping in a truck) or a portable camp brought in. My concern is that if you got the arena...

Part of the issue is the numbers but also the erratic areas where folks come from. Do you build housing for 3? 5? 20,000 people in a Whitehorse/Grande Prairie/Sioux Lookout/Tutuyuktuk? That might be double the size of some communities and they don't have just the shortage of housing but also...

Don't get me wrong at a community evacuation perspective, evacuee response center, community recovery and may on an incident you can use alot of these folks. But most agencies are contracting out medical services for fires already and it hasn't been a major capacity issue the same way trained...

Unfortunately 200 men and women....is maybe a division's worth of firefighters on a major blaze if you have to put it out. That's 10 unit crews or 50 initial attack crews which also would represent a significant amount of any Canadian provinces resources and exceeds the size of many provinces...

Thanks FJAG, I tend to agree with the modular split of the 70/30. Heck if anything my untrained eyes are seeing that small unit tactics and leadership are even more critical than previously emphasized in the Ukraine with company and section level attacks which also would align with smaller...

FJAG, Out of interest as you've been a big proponent of the 70/30 split argument which I've been following what would happen if there was a different split of classes: Class A - full time regular force contract. Comes with priority for deployments and quarters Class B - NEW - full time...

Lots of areas I'd like to see prescribed burns into but there are also lots of areas where the risks are just too high. It's a bit like live fire rifle training....some areas are great but complex urban environments may not be the best locations. Or you end up with a very specialized force...

It's part of the issue for igniting prescribed burns....it's the igniting agency that caused it and may be held liable not just for burn damages but indirect effects. The US uses a position called the "Burn Boss" who signs off that the burn is valid, within paramaters for weather, fuel...

I look at that list...think of my paycheck and almost everything until the green locations is greater than 50% of my take home pay. And I make just under 100k a year. One hell of a time to be starting out in life is all I can say for kids.

Thanks Brihard, I knew it wasnt' Fort McMurray but it does go to show how fast "temporary" housing can be put up to accommodate large scale numbers of people. They definitely aren't as robust as traditional builds but when you figure you can house entire towns/small cities in a single camp...

I often think of a snippet read many years ago talking about promotion boards and the qualifications needed in the British Army. Fluency in a second language - preferably on of the core Indian languages - was give the same points as attendance at formal post secondary schooling. It did...

Wife does the early childhood care gig. Once she gets her upgraded qualification....after two years of work and 16+ courses....she figured the pay raise would have taken over 10 years of work just recoup tuition. Only reason she's doing it is due to the Feds picking up the extra training...

Some of the best advice I got was a follows: 1) what does the job actually pay if you go to X school? I might have work but if I'm earning less than minimum wage why waste the tuition 2) What does the salary actually mean for purchasing power. It was a very humbling experience just before...

44 fires so far this season in Alberta...largest was 214 ha from Feb.23 50 fires carried over and while most are under control some are only being held. No out of control fires at this time. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/3ffcc2d0ef3e4e0999b0cf8b636defa3