‘Stinking Hot Weather’: Embodying Fire Suppression on the Ground and in the Air in Mid-Twentieth-Century British Columbia

ABSTRACT Histories of aerial firefighting in British Columbia [BC]’s Forest Service often frame the mid-twentieth century as a time of transformation from an agency of patrolmen fighting fires with hand tools to a technological system governed by enlightened professionals. The aeroplane was a convenient commemorative shorthand for a classic story of technological progress and success in fire suppression. In this article, we listen closely to the oral histories of two forest rangers working on the fire line during the introduction of aerial fire suppression technologies in the mid-twentieth century. By analysing these interviews and related archival materials, we contribute to embodied and sensory histories of colonial fire suppression practices in BC and work to situate them in their specific institutional, social and cultural contexts. Close attention to the sensory experience of firefighting men shows how embodied, individual and situated knowledge shaped the work of fire control in the BC Forest Service.