Not if, but when: Crews battle simulated North Shore wildfire – BC [Video]

It’s 9 p.m. on the first day of August, and as the sun sets, a recreational boater in Indian Arm spots a glow coming from the shore.

The longer they look, the more convinced they are they’re seeing a wildfire.

The boater is right. Earlier that morning, a group of kayakers who had been camping at Camp Jubilee packed up and left the site with embers still burning in their campfire pit. As winds picked up, they fanned the embers, producing flames that spread first into the brush before threatening structures and infrastructure.

None of this is real.

It’s Operation Jubilee — a simulation of a fire scenario that District of North Vancouver firefighters and partner agencies ran in real time on Thursday at a remote location north of the community.

“This is really about getting all the responding agencies together, putting a face to a name, understanding how we operate, how we can work …