B.C. helicopter company heading to Alberta for nighttime wildfire training [Video]

As Alberta prepares for what could be another highly active wildfire season, a B.C. helicopter company has landed a new contract with the Alberta government, training pilots how to battle wildfires from the sky at night.

“Alberta has decided to go into nighttime firefighting activities with aircraft, so it will be with NVG (Night Vision Goggles) and actually actioning the fires,” said Trent Lemke, owner of Ascent Helicopters. “They want 24/7 services for their fire crews.”

Lemke says that there aren’t a lot of operators in the province or even the country set up to offer these services, adding that there are several advantages to fighting wildfires after the sun sets.

“You have less fire activity so you can actually action the fire with a higher success rate,” said Lemke.

“The other part is having ground crews working on the fires 24/7, so when the crews are on the fire that mean they can back them up with aircrafts …