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Where there's smoke, there's fire — though residents of the Munson Mountain area need not be alarmed when they see some around Campbell Mountain next month.
The Penticton Fire Department is hosting a "first of its kind" Wildfire Training Symposium involving over 150 firefighters from 27 different municipalities. It was organized by PFD Fire Chief Larry Watkinson, who said this kind of preparation in a non-emergency setting gets people ready for when a real crisis hits.
"We train for house fires, we train for motor vehicle accidents, we train for everything, but one of the largest threats in our community is wildfire," Watkinson said. "So, why are we not doing more to train for that?"
The symposium will run April 6-8, and will conclude on the Sunday with a controlled burn wildfire simulation with a full rollout of firetrucks, sprinkler equipment and plenty of real flames.
"In this scenario, we have a fire that is at the base of Campbell Mountain, and is threatening all of the northern homes up Spiller Road," Watkinson said. "We're really pre-planning a fire here in a sense, and the way the fire would kind of travel and move in this topography."
It serves a double purpose of training for the firefighters while burning off brush in a vulnerable recreational area where bonfires are common, so that there is less fuel in the event of a real wildfire. Watkinson assured the public it will be safe and controlled, and that they chose a cooler, wetter time of year on purpose.
Meanwhile, the symposium isn't the only preparation for warmer weather at the fire department. A new Emergency Operations Centre has opened, where in the event of a crisis, representatives from multiple emergency operations and law enforcement can co-ordinate together on response.
"Penticton is the largest municipality in the RDOS, so we thought it prudent to have our own EOC," said Deputy Fire Chief Chris Forster.
Overall, Watkinson feels his team will be more prepared than ever before for flood and fire season.
"There are a lot of our own Penticton firefighters attending this, and we're taking full advantage of it."
