In an email to BCAC Executive Director Dave Frank, Leanne Ingham, Provincial Air Branch Director & Superintendent, Aviation Management at the BC Wildfire Service stated that, “we have stood up a Provincial Air Branch under the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre (PECC) in Emergency Management BC (EMBC). BC Wildfire Service has the responsibility for coordinating the provinces’ aviation response to catastrophic events under the Emergency Program Act legislation. This includes procuring flights and fuel services to support various Ministries, agencies and communities as needed.
Our efforts to date have been around establishing the processes for end-users to request service and to get an awareness out that we are able to coordinate all aviation operations around COVID response and support from a central location. In the coming days we are anticipating a significant increase in flight requests to support response in communities across BC. We will be leaning on the aviation community in BC to support our efforts and continue the work they do every day to support the communities they work in. I expect that there will be growing pains and changes to normal operating procedures as we go forward, but know that we are intending to do our best to support the needs of the province as well as to support the BC aviation industry through this crisis.”
For further information, or to learn how you can help, please contact:
Leanne Ingham – Provincial Air Branch Director
Superintendent, Aviation Management
BC Wildfire Service | Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
Email: Leanne.Ingham@gov.bc.ca
Cell: 778-257-0683
Report Wildfires: 1 800 663-5555 or *5555
