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

By Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press on January 8, 2025.

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ethan Swope

MONTREAL – Quebec-based pilots are fighting high winds and heavy turbulence as they battle the massive wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area, while on the ground Canadians with homes in the area are being forced to flee ahead of 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 winds in the region have created fast-moving flames and “extreme” turbulence that have pushed their 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.

The planes in the air include a pair of Canadian-made water bombers belonging to the Quebec government, as well as helicopters belonging to B.C.-based Coulson Aviation, which the company says are “on the front line” of the fight. Coulson said in a social media post that its crews are “braving high winds and challenging conditions” in the fight against the largest fire.

Thousands of firefighters were tackling multiple blazes that had killed at least two people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures across the Los Angeles area as of Wednesday morning, according to Los Angeles County’s fire chief.

Canadians including Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida and his family were among the more than 70,000 people 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.”

Coulson, which is based in Port Alberni, B.C., but also operates in the United States and Australia, said aircraft involved in fighting the fire include its double-rotor Chinook fleet and a smaller Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. The company’s social media post included a screen shot showing the flight paths of three of its water-bombing helicopters swirling repeatedly over the neighbourhood.

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

The Canadian-made CL-415 planes and their pilots and maintenance 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.

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 in Vancouver and The Associated Press