From the inferno: Fighting wildfires in a disastrous summer

Every time a new wildfire breaks out in B.C. an initial attack crew has to get there fast — by truck, helicopter or hiking through the bush with all their equipment on their backs.
“It’s definitely physical work,” said Jess Oundjian, a first-year firefighter working in Kamloops. “When you are right on a fire you get inundated with smoke and ash, sometimes it feels like you’ve smoked a pack of cigarettes, but it doesn’t last long.”
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