From the City of Williams Lake:
Despite huge wildfires and a large volume of smoke in the Cariboo Chilcotin this summer, the Williams Lake Regional Airport saw a 16 per cent increase in aircraft movements between May and August this year over the same period in 2009.
10,257 passengers went through the airport between May and August 2010, compared to 8,839 in the same period in 2009. “This increase in passenger traffic shows that the airport operations staff and our tenants did a fantastic job accommodating the Ministry of Forests temporary tanker base during the wildfires this summer,” says airport coordinator Angela Cail. “The BC Forest Service used a corner of the airport apron as a temporary tanker base for re-fueling, loading fire retardant and transporting fire personnel.”
Airport operations staff were responsible for ensuring jet fuel was always available to BC Forest Service air tankers. During the wildfires, airport staff delivered 51,000 litres of jet fuel every few days and at the fires’ peak, the airport accommodated 35 helicopters and dispensed 54,000 litres of jet fuel in one day.
Airport staff provided logistical support such as a “sick bay” for helicopter maintenance and parking for BC Forest Service vehicles. The airport also received 12 Boeing 737 planes used for transporting fire crews to and from the region.
“Airport staff worked through many challenges during the fire season, and earned kudos from our tenants and the BC Forest Service,” says Reg Ryan, City Manager of Transportation and Buildings. “We are proud that there were no disruptions to commercial flights due to wildfire operations, and that passenger number actually increased during the summer months.”
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