B. C. hikers call for dramatic rescue of helicopter from forest fire

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Sage Randle and two of her friends had just finished eating sandwiches at the top of Mount Bruce B. C. on Monday when hikers noticed a smell of something rising from the forest below. It was windy around Invermere, and they thought maybe it was a little dust flying around.

A friend ran ahead to check on him. “He shouted back at us that it was a fire,” Randle said in an interview. “We just didn’t believe it. We’re like, ‘ there’s no way it’s going to happen now.’ ”

Canada is in the midst of a record-breaking wildfire season, with 4,772 fires destroying about 12 million hectares so far this year. By comparison, the 10-year average is equivalent to 3,633 fires burning 1.6 million hectares per year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.

There were 435 active fires burning in B. C. Wednesday, including the one that was lit on Monday afternoon at Mount Bruce while Mrs.Randle, Ida Von huth Smith and Malte Hjortkjaer were walking.

The unidentifiable noise in the air that day quickly grew into an unquestionable wall of smoke between them and Mrs May’s car.Randle, parked at the trailhead about three kilometers from the top.

“There’s no way we can go back,” Randle said. “It was growing crazy fast and we just had to leave.”

The trio had cell phone service, so one of them reported the fire while Ms. Randle called 911 and tried to explain their predicament. She assumed she would have to tell the dispatcher which direction they would be heading and hoped search and rescue could use that information to find them.

But Ms Randle said while she was on the phone, Glacier Helicopters Ltd., which operates from bases in Invermere and Revelstoke, saw smoke on the mountain, saw her car at the trailhead and realised pedestrians could be trapped.

A red-and-white helicopter landed in a clearing on the mountain, while white, gray and black smoke poured thick into the blue sky. “They just instructed us right away what to do, how to get into the helicopter,” Randle said. The climbers handed over their backpacks, sprayed the bear, the poles, and ran towards the plane, with their heads bowed down.

The pilot threw them into the car of Mrs. Randle, who was on a logging road, flew over them for about 10 minutes, until the adventurers were out of danger.

Ms Randle, who lives in Invermere but is from Sechelt, and her friends, who are on a working holiday from Denmark, called their loved ones to let them know what happened. Then they went to the stolen church Gelato & Coffee.

“I got sherbet raven,” she said.

Greg Floopormitt, the manager of Glacier helicopter base in Invermere, confirmed the rescue mission. “I’m glad we got them out safely,” he said in an email.

The fire, known as the Horsethief Creek Fire, started about seven kilometers north of Panorama Mountain Resort and 10 kilometers west of Invermere, both popular mountain destinations in the Columbia Valley. It burned nearly 1,000 acres by Tuesday afternoon, according to the BC Fire Service. The Eastern Kootenay Regional District issued an evacuation order for 25 residences and an evacuation alert for more than 1,000 residences due to the fire.

The Horsethief Creek Fire is one of the wildfires visible southeast of P.E. s. in the region, the St River Fire. Mary burned down seven homes in the First Nation of baqaq’am, near Cranbrook, and the lladnar Creek Fire prompted local authorities to issue evacuation warnings affecting roughly 2,000 people in Sparantanood.

Bc AdventureSmart on Wednesday called on outdoor enthusiasts to have an emergency exit plan before walking in light of the tumultuous conditions of this summer’s wildfires. He also reminded hikers to check the wind direction and wear an emergency communication device that does not rely on mobile service.

Ms Randle, 26, still wants to walk this summer, but Monday’s adventure has adjusted her approach. Now she plans to pack a satellite phone, even for casual day trips.

“It definitely makes me feel like I need to be a little more careful,” she said. “I still don’t believe it happened.”