Battling the blaze

Osoyoos firefighters hose a burning truck and try to bring the flames under control. The truck lost its brakes descending Anarchist Mountain and had to take the runaway lane. It burst into flames seconds after the driver escaped with minor scrapes.

A truck driver is lucky to be alive after he lost his brakes Wednesday descending Anarchist Mountain and the truck burst into flames at the end of the runaway lane.

Gary Reyklin, of Vancouver, received only minor scrapes after he jumped and escaped from the truck only seconds before it was engulfed in flames.

The fire from the burning lumber cargo and diesel fuel was spread by winds and lit spots up the mountain, forcing the evacuation of about 20 houses.

Firefighters from Osoyoos, Anarchist Mountain, Oliver and the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) battled the main blaze and the fires that erupted across the mountain. Bomber planes flew overhead, descending into the smoke to drop red fire retardant in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading.

Although residents were allowed to return to their homes later that evening, hot spots continued to burn over about 50 hectares keeping more than 100 volunteer firefighters busy the next two days.

Reyklin said he was returning from Grand Forks with a load of lumber when the terrifying incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. on June 12.

“I was coming down the hill and the brakes started smoking a little bit and I was right near the bottom,” Reyklin said. “The police came up behind and saw me smoking my brakes and he turned his (flashing) lights on. I thought he was trying to pull me over, so I tried stopping and had no brakes left then.”

Reyklin said he hit the runaway lane, not realizing it was going to be so rocky.

“I thought it would be soft sand and you would dig in, but it’s not,” said Reyklin. “It’s pretty hard and it’s not that long and right at the top there’s just a big pile of rocks. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t stop,” he said, saying the truck slammed into the rocks.

Sgt. Kevin Schur, commander of the Osoyoos RCMP detachment, said he was returning from another call on the mountain when he saw smoke coming from the wheel area of the truck, which was just ahead of him. Another car was between them.

He passed the other car and turned on his flashing lights as the amount of smoke billowing from under the truck increased greatly.

“The truck and trailers were picking up speed, so it was clear to me that the vehicle wasn’t in control anymore and was not able to slow down,” said Schur.

Schur also radioed Cpl. Jason Bayda to come to the bottom of the hill, realizing the truck was headed for a crash. They also alerted ambulance and firefighter personnel, who made it to the scene quickly.

The truck took the runaway lane near the bottom of the hill and actually overshot the lane, hitting a pile of rocks at the end and tipping on its side, Schur said.

Schur ran from his police car at the start of the runaway lane and before he reached the truck he saw the driver safely emerge.

Within seconds, it was engulfed in flames.

“I don’t think I would have been able to get him out,” said Schur. “If he hadn’t have got himself out, I don’t think I would have been able to help.”

Reyklin said when the truck first came to a stop he crawled out and looked around, but remembered he had left his cellphone and wallet in the cab and went back in a futile attempt to retrieve them.

“That’s when I noticed the truck was on fire, so I got out pretty quick,” he said.

Reyklin said he’s been driving since the 1970s and has never before had an accident or had to use a runaway lane.

“Never. Never wanted to. Never will again,” he said.

He described his scrapes as “just a little road rash … That’s why you wear your seatbelt.”

The fire jumped up the mountain spreading through dry grass, sagebrush and antelope brush while the lumber flared up.

In total, close to 100 firefighters were involved in battling the blaze and fire chiefs in Osoyoos and Anarchist Mountain both said they had excellent turnouts of their crews.
“I probably had about 20, 25 guys there,” said Osoyoos Fire Chief Rick Jones, adding the province sent two crews of about 20 and a couple smaller crews of five.

Firefighters from Oliver were also at the scene. Jones said Oliver was also called under mutual aid to stand by and assist in the event that there was another fire in Osoyoos.

B.C. Ambulance was also standing by and checking out firefighters as they worked and RCMP were there to direct traffic and monitor the situation.

There were as many as four planes flying overhead, dropping clouds of red fire retardant over the area to stop the fire from spreading.

Jones explained that the lead plane known as a “bird dog” flies ahead to survey the situation and determine the best approach and escape. A tanker plane, in constant communication, then follows the bird dog’s route to drop the retardant.

Anarchist Mountain Fire Chief Rob Burk said all his firefighters showed up, a crew of about 19, and even some retired firefighters showed up.

While Osoyoos Fire and Rescue fought the main fire, members from the Anarchist Mountain Fire Department concentrated on preventing its spread to houses up the hill.

“We were being preventative because the fire was racing up the hill when we first started,” said Burk. “We were evacuating homes quickly and preparing to gel them.”
His crew was also soaking down houses.

The most challenging part of fighting this kind of fire is the terrain and limited amount of water, Burk said.

“The terrain is so steep that we can’t really attack the fire easily from a safe location,” Burk said. “It’s really got to be controlled by Forestry by the planes and bombers. We can protect the homes if the homeowners follow the fire smart home program.”

Jones said the Osoyoos firefighters also faced the challenge of having to carry heavy bunker gear with air packs. With tires exploding and thick black smoke rising to the air, the crew wore the extra gear not knowing at first what kind of fire they faced.

“I had some of my guys with their bunker gear 800 feet up the hill,” Jones said. “Mountain crews don’t normally wear air packs and respirators so these guys were carrying that extra weight.”

The most challenging part, he said, is “watching it run away from you because it moves so fast. My crews actually put the fire out around the truck and they put foam down on the ground all the way around the truck, and then they proceeded to chase the fire to try to stop it from going up the mountain.”

When the bird dog first got to the scene, the fire covered an area of about six hectares, Jones said. By the time they finished and circled the fire with retardant, it covered over 50 hectares.

Reyklin, who said he felt terrible about having caused the fire, at least was relieved that it was only lumber he was carrying.

“If it had been a tanker, it could have been ugly,” he said.

BY RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times