'It is heavy': How firefighting crews are handling the loss of two colleagues

Just weeks after 19-year-old Devyn Gale with the BC Wildfire Service was killed by a falling tree, another young person working as a contracted wildland firefighter died on the job. Twenty five-year-old Zak Muise, who was living in Kelowna and working for Big Cat Wildfire, was a passenger in a UTV that rolled down an embankment near Fort St. John on July 28th. He did not survive.

“I have never felt the heaviness that we are feeling this season with the tragic loss of two individuals in B.C. on fires,” said Cliff Chapman with the BC Wildfire Service. “The loss of life is obviously tragic, and something that we haven’t experienced a great deal in B.C. over the past decade or two.”

B.C.’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, Bowinn Ma, also spoke about Muise’s death.

“British Columbians are still reeling from the loss of Devyn Gale, and to go through this again is heartbreaking,” said Ma. “BC Wildfire Service firefighters, contractors and international firefighters have an incredibly difficult job, and every day they go to heroic lengths to protect people and communities.”

The two deaths highlight the risks faced by firefighters during this unprecedented wildfire season.

“It is a dangerous job,” said Mike Smesman, the owner of Big Cat Wildfire. “We are working in extreme conditions, extreme heat, there is a lot of moving parts and a lot of intricate pieces involved in fighting a fire.”

He said Muise knew the risks when he first signed up as a wildland firefighter two years ago. But he returned to the job in 2022 and 2023. “Zak’s biggest desire was to have this as a permanent job. He wanted his career to be in wildland firefighting. I know myself being in the industry for so long, it gets in your blood and becomes a part of you,” said Smesman.

But he says losing two colleagues in the span of two weeks has hit the whole industry hard.

“The wildfire community is small and we all take it personally. We are all a family,” said Smesman. “We all feel it and it makes it hard to do the job, but at the same time you know it’s the reason why we do it, to try and keep our community and other brothers safe.”

There is extensive training for employees and contractors working for the BC Wildfire Service.

“From the moment that you get hired, and as you work your way through the ranks of wildfire, you continue to get additional training. Training like danger tree training, training to be able to assess and understand if a tree is safe or dangerous as you enter a fire scene,” said Chapman.

Jarad Gibbenhuck, who was Muise’s crew leader with Big Cat Wildfire, said everyone is trained to limit the danger as much as possible. “But there is still a lot of risk involved. That’s why the job is not for everyone. But the select few that do choose to do it, we all take the risk into account every single day.”

“Obviously everybody takes every step and procedure they possibly can to make sure we are operating in a safe manner. But there is a lot of unforeseen circumstances that you just can’t control,” added Smesman.

The BC Wildfire Service is offering mental health services to its members in the wake of the two deaths. “It is heavy. There is a lot of grief within the organization and beyond,” said Chapman. But with fires still burning all over the province, he said the work goes on.

“Our focus is obviously on response and continuing fighting these fires. But we need to continue to monitor how our staff is doing and look at programs as we move into the fall for the months and years ahead.”