Fact Check: Did helicopters start the Canada wildfire? Viral video debunked

A viral Instagram video, making rounds of the internet shows people claiming that the Canadian Wildfire was a set-up. The video, posted on June 7, 2023, by the Instagram account @dashcam_newyork accused the government of setting up the fires. The video showed sparks being thrown from a helicopter into the trees below.

However, the claims inferring that the video showcases fires being set up are completely false. The video doesn't showcase the set-up of a wildfire but shows authorities attempting to control the fire. The helicopter is not setting up wildfires but is trying to limit the spread of the existing wildfire through controlled burns.

@dashcam_newyork has over 98,600 followers on Instagram, and the account's owner, @chipeoshaw is a New York blogger with an Instagram following of over 117,000.

In the video, that was shared on the account, a man films the TV screen, where the video of the helicopter dropping flames is playing. The man says that this was how they started the fire and called it a setup. The voice of a woman can also be heard in the background saying that it was fake news.

The woman continues to state multiple times that it was fake news and that it was done to clean out dead trees. Meanwhile, the man says:

"So you're going to clean out dead trees by setting more fire?"

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Donnie Creek ignition specialist, Mike Morrow, on how ignitions help control the wildfire

The original clip, playing the helicopters spreading flames was taken from a Youtube video posted on the Bloomberg Television Youtube channel on June 7, 2023. The Bloomberg video sourced planned ignition updates videos from the British Columbia Wildfire Service.

The BBC Wildfire Service YouTube channel posted a video on June 4, 2023, that detailed how planned ignitions help control fires. The video is titled "Donnie Creek Wildlife - planned ignitions update June 4, 2023."

It sees Donnie Creek complex ignition and fire behavior specialist, Mike Morrow explaining how wind shifts might cause the aggressive fires to move toward communities. Morrow explains that because they were concerned about the fire moving towards areas of concern, they decided to control the natural fire pattern and take it out.

He said:

"What we're doing is we're taking the fuels out on our terms rather than letting mother nature guide the project."

Morgan Bogeen explains that prior to the active ignition, they make a mission plan to ensure that the burn is successful. Bogeen, an Ignition and Fire Behaviour Specialist trainee, added:

"We're looking at what resources will be required to hold the ignition lines, what resources will be required to light the fire, whether it be hand crews or aerial ignition or In this case we use a Heli-torch."

According to Mike Morrow, a Heli-torch is a 45-gallon drum gelled gasoline, that the pilot suspends under the helicopter. Once the command is given, the pilot pulls the trigger on a remote device shooting the jelly gasoline, which is ignited at the end of the nozzle and falls onto the tree tops. Morrow states that the Heli-torch is a very quick ignition, so it helps to maintain control of the ignition operations.

On June 1 and 2, 2023, a total of 55 kilometers of line was successfully secured along the south flank of the fire. According to BBC Wildlife Service, planned ignitions were an important fire management tool that helped in bringing the fire's edge to established control lines with less intensity than natural free-burning fire. This helps to reduce the ability for further spread.