'Incident Commander
Pro - Version 8'
-
Wildfire Response -
'Incident Commander Pro' used to Evacuate 30,000 People
|
|
|
Forest Fire destroys homes on Okanagan Mountain |
Raging Forest Fire cause 30,000
Kelowna Residents to Flee.
Kelowna, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
 |
| Resident watches as homes blaze across Lake Okanagan |
B.C.'s premier declares a State of Emergency as wild land fires rage across central British Columbia. Police, Firefighters, Military Personnel and SAR volunteers are called into active service.
In
one of the longest and hottest summers in decades over 600 wild land fires
forced approximately 30,000 residents from Kelowna and 8,000 residents from
other towns in central British Columbia, to be evacuated from their homes.
Lightning
strikes on Okanagan Mountain Park, directly above the city of Kelowna, caused
the tinder dry forest to burst into flames. As these flames approached the city
emergency personnel initially put the public on one-hour evacuation
notice. However during the night of August 22nd the winds
picked up speed and quickly fanned the fire towards the southern outskirts of
the city.
As
the blaze swept from treetop to treetop, exploding houses in it’s path,
emergency personnel ordered the immediate evacuation of over 16,000 residents,
joining another 10,000 people that had been evacuated the previous day.
|
|
|
'Incident
Commander Pro'
software |
Police
and search and rescue personnel immediately began the massive evacuation of all
the public from within the threatened areas. As the incident developed a four-computer
network of the 'Incident Commander Pro'
software was installed and used to check-in all SAR personnel, and
to manage the creation and deployment of all their field assignments.
Despite the heat, smoke and traffic jams police and SAR personnel performed one of the largest and fastest evacuations undertaken in Canadian history, with over 16,000 people being safely evacuated from their homes over a 16 hour period.
The
fire rapidly swept through southern Kelowna, jumping from treetop to treetop,
traveling at a speed of 300ft per minute, destroying over 200 homes in upscale
neighborhoods and lighting the night sky with a 300ft high wall of flame.
As the fire abated hundreds of volunteers, including emergency social services
and search and
rescue teams, worked around the clock for almost a week, caring for the
evacuated and helping to secure the fire-torn and fire-threatened areas.
For up to two weeks many residents were forced to
remain away from their homes while over 600 firefighters battled the blaze. Firefighters and military personnel from across Canada joined local
firefighters, forming the largest peacetime operation of military personnel in
Canadian history. Nearly 300 pieces of heavy equipment, 20 helicopters and
5 air-tankers were used to fight the blaze. The cost of fighting the fires has skyrocketed to a
record-breaking $300 to 400 million CDN, with the British Columbia government
seeking disaster relief funding from the Canadian federal government.
For more information please
contact:
SAR
Technology Inc.
Phone:
(604) 921-2488 
Fax
(604) 921-2484 
sartechnology@telus.net
SAR Technology
Home