Canadian firefighter cycling length of NZ

TRAVELLER'S WELCOME: Ann and John Handley host touring cyclist Devin Palmer.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 051015WCSMCANADIAN2

A big storm with lightning strikes can cause thousands of Canadian forest fires in a dry, windy summer, Devin Palmer says.

Mr Palmer is a wildland firefighter, working for six to eight months in summer and looking for adventure for the rest of the year.

At the moment he's cycling the length of New Zealand and started from Cape Reinga last month. He was in Wanganui at the weekend, hosted by Ann and John Handley.

They are part of the warmshowers network, which matches touring cyclists with hosts who offer a shower and either a bed or a place to camp. The Handleys have hosted four cyclists in the year since they joined, and said they met some great people.

They were intrigued by their visitor's lifestyle. Mr Palmer has been a wildland firefighter for six years. He got two months' training to rappel - slide down a rope from a helicopter - and set up on the ground to fight fires.

He works from about April to October each year

During summer he has 15 days on, living in a camp, and then six days off, when he usually stays with family or friends or goes camping. He works hard, saves money and usually travels in the off-season.

"I can get all my worldly possessions in a car and still see out the back window."

The vast Canadian north is forested with spruce and pine trees, some 30m tall. The trees often grow in swampy conditions, but that doesn't stop forest fires.

"There can be 10 feet (3m) of water, with a fire burning like crazy on top. The only good thing about it is you have a water source usually pretty close."

It is the job of Mr Palmer's team to protect the oil and gas industry and the towns that service it in northern Alberta. He said most fires were caused by lightning. But mud caked on vehicle exhausts causes some - when it gets hot and falls off on flammable material.

The northern summer just passed was very dry, and Kiwi firefighters were called to help in Canada.

Fires are fought with pumped water or water dropped by helicopters. Or they are stopped by backburning or using heavy machinery to make firebreaks. Firefighters are in radio contact, and work is carefully planned.

The forests are home to bears and other animals, but firefighters seldom see them. They are used to fires and flee when they smell smoke.

"The forest is meant to burn. Some of the trees, like jack pines, have cones that release seeds after a fire."

Mr Palmer cycled the 87km from Raetihi to Wanganui at the weekend. He is in New Zealand because he met two Kiwis while cycling in Ecuador and Peru. He hopes to reach Bluff early next month.