By The Canadian Press

‘On the front line’: Quebec planes and B.C. helicopters battle L.A. wildfires

Jan 8, 2025 | 11:21 AM

MONTREAL — Water-bombing pilots and crews from Quebec and a British Columbia company have been grappling with high winds and heavy turbulence in the battle against massive Los Angeles wildfires, as Canadians with homes in the area are forced to flee fast-moving flames.

Pascal Duclos, head pilot for the Quebec government’s aerial service, said he spent several hours in the air on Tuesday, dumping dozens of loads of water over fire-devastated areas from his plane.

“What I saw was houses that were in flames, cars that were in flames, people watering their roofs, who were trying to save the building, a lot of people on the ground, firefighters trying to get down a path to get to the source of the fire,” he said Wednesday in a video interview.

Duclos, who has been travelling to L.A. for 14 years as part of a government contract, says extreme dryness and high winds have created fast-moving flames and “extreme” turbulence that pushed planes to the limit. When refilling, the sheer number of aircraft, as well as people on the ground — some of them civilians fleeing the flames — combine to create an “intense” situation, he said.

In addition to the two Canadian-made CL-415 planes belonging to the Quebec government, helicopters belonging to B.C.-based Coulson Aviation have been “on the front line” of the fight, the company said.

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Coulson said in a social media post that its crews are “braving high winds and challenging conditions” in the fight against the largest fire, and CEO Wayne Coulson said the winds disrupted aircraft operations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The wind showed up extremely quickly, which is unusual,” Coulson said. “The fire started right away, so we couldn’t fly for the first three hours of the wind event. We had to wait until the wind subsided under 30 miles an hour before we could get the aircraft launched onto the fire.”

Coulson said his company — based in Port Alberni, B.C. — operates three Boeing CH-47 Chinook helitankers with 3,000-gallon tanks, as well as a smaller Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. They are contracted with local utility Southern California Edison.

That means Coulson’s aircraft directly serves Los Angeles, and Orange and Ventura counties, and were among the first on the scene of the wildfires.

The company’s social media post included a screen shot showing the flight paths of three water-bombing helicopters swirling repeatedly over the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood that has been devastated by the flames.

“This program runs 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and we’re on every 911 call in the Los Angeles Basin,” Coulson said, adding that the ongoing battle against the flames will likely go down as one of the toughest fights seen by local firefighters in 40 years.

“It’s in the urban interface, and it’s taking out hundreds and hundreds of homes,” Coulson said. “And a lot of those homes, of course, are very, very expensive.

“As soon as the wind dies down, we will get control of it relatively quickly. But it’s just how much damage is done in the meantime.”

Thousands of firefighters were tackling the massive wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area that left neighbourhoods in ruins while killing at least five people and threatening landmarks made famous by Hollywood.

Canadians including Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida and his family were among the many thousands forced to flee their homes.

“We’ve evacuated currently and our canyon is on fire,” Maida told The Canadian Press.

Actor Eugene Levy, another prominent Canadian in L.A., told the Los Angeles Times that he faced gridlocked traffic as he attempted to vacate the area amid “black and intense” smoke.

Dayn Nanda, a Toronto-born talent booker living in West Hollywood, described the view from his apartment as “apocalyptic.”

“Even just looking out of my window, the sky is full of black clouds and there’s a noticeable difference in air quality,” he said. “The winds are crazy. Things are falling over and breaking on my balcony.”

Nanda said he moved to the city three years ago and knew wildfires were something to expect, but didn’t imagine he’d ever experience anything of this magnitude. While he wasn’t personally affected by the blaze, he said several colleagues have lost homes.

The 30-year-old said he posted on social media to offer his spare bedroom to anyone displaced by the fire.

“We’re all going to come together and try to help each other in any way that we can. None of the glitz and glamour of L.A. matters at the end of the day,” he said. “It’s about your family. This really brings to light the things that matter, because all the material stuff you can lose in an instant. Life can change in a blink of an eye.”

A spokesperson for Quebec’s Transport Department said the province’s current California contingent includes eight pilots and four technicians.

The CL-415s and their crews are sent to California every fall as part of an annual contract in place since 1994. The contract normally begins in September and lasts for between 90 and 180 days, with crews rotating in and out to ensure staffing.

Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel posted a message of support on X to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying the province is ready to send additional firefighters to the state if they are needed.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said early Thursday that the province will “spare no expense” in providing help to California. In a social media post, Ford said he’s directed officials to send “every available water bomber” to the state.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which is operated by fire management agencies across Canada, said it has no resources deployed to the California firefighting effort, and there were no “anticipated requests.”

The disaster prompted the NHL to postpone a Los Angeles Kings home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. The Kings saluted the hard-working first responders who are trying to contain the fires and protect the community.

“We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our fans, staff, and players safe,” the team said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025.

— With files from Alex Nino Gheciu in Toronto, Brieanna Charlebois and Chuck Chiang in Vancouver and The Associated Press

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press