COLLINS – New wildfire training centre has great potential

IT WILL TAKE a while, but when a new wildfire training and education centre opens down the road, it could well provide a focal point for vast improvements in how we understand the behaviour of wildfires and how best to fight them.

Fighting wildfires has changed a lot. It’s much more complicated especially with drought, rapid changes in weather patterns and coordination of personnel.

When I was in my late teens, I was driving with a colleague on a road trip for the federal government. We were somewhere near Vanderhoof on Highway 16 when we saw smoke ahead.

Next thing we knew, we were stopped and literally conscripted to fight a fire that had broken out. We were given a jacket, helmet and shovel, and put to work until the fire was out.

I don’t know if that was common practice back in the early 60’s or even legal. And it sure scared the hell out of me at the time. It also gave me a tremendous appreciation of what first responders do and the danger they put themselves in every day.

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Doug Collins has had a wide background in the broadcast industry, having done virtually every type of news and sports broadcasting, including news anchor, sports play-by-play, and editorialist. His “One Man’s Opinion” aired on TV from 1973- 2013. He retired from his management roles in the station in October, 2018, but continues to write his column. In 2019, Doug was awarded the Freedom of the City.