The Canadian Armed Forces has not made a decision as to when it will officially pull out of Williams Lake and Riske Creek, public affairs officer Lt. Ken Jacobson told the Tribune Wednesday.
“At this point in time there has not been an official word from the government of B.C. nor the Canadian Armed Forces as far as an exact date that we will be leaving,” Jacobson said. “We will be remaining here as long as Operation LENTUS is needed.”
Since the middle of August, approximately 525 soldiers have been stationed in the Cariboo to assist with the wildfire situation.
Initially there were soldiers staying at the Cariboo Memorial Complex in Williams Lake, but in the third week of August they moved to the former Glendale School site on Mackenzie Avenue North and a second camp was established at Riske Creek because incoming soldiers were tasked with assisting the BC Wildfire Service on the Hanceville-Riske Creek fire.
Last Thursday troops stationed in Riske Creek received a special visit from Canada’s Minister of National Defence the Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan.
“During his visit, the minister received an update briefing from Major Chan on the status of the camp and spoke with the troops,” Jacobson said, noting the minister did not have the opportunity to visit the Williams Lake camp.
Jacobson said CAF soldiers are trained for initial firefighting levels so they can go out and do fire line patrols and look for hot spots.
“We can also do other things that are fundamental to firefighting that don’t detract the ability of the BCWS firefighters who are trained to handle the more advanced and complex nature of firefighting,” he added.
Both camps are self-sufficient and have their own vehicle maintenance shops.
“We will rotate vehicles back and forth as required to meet the needs of the operation,” Jacobson said.
A sea container gym arrived at the Williams Lake camp so that members who are not out on patrol or doing other physical activities can maintain their fitness.
Canadian Rangers coming from around B.C. and several other provinces have also been assisting with the operations, and by this week there were 23 staying in Williams Lake.
“They typically come from more localized areas and can provide us with knowledge of the culture and the landscape,” Jacobson said of the rangers. “They assist in that respect, and are like liaisons.”
When the decision is made by land task force commander Lt.-Col. Jeffrey Toope to demobilize the camps in Williams Lake and Riske Creek Jacobson said it will probably be done with a staged approach.
“These camps are fairly large and involved,” he explained.
“There are generators, plumbing, all sorts of different aspects to provide us the facilities we need to maintain operations here. It’s probably going to take a day or two, but it could be faster if we are needed somewhere else.”