Final report - Integrated Land Management Bureau

Transportation Assessment of the Central & North Coast of BC
the BC Ambulance Service in Victoria is notified. They decide on what kind of air
ambulance to use and which emergency medical personnel to dispatch. The VIH
helicopter undertakes the pick up and delivery and an ambulance attendant is sent
along to tend the patient, along with a physician in severe cases. The patient is
delivered to a helicopter landing pad located adjacent to either Prince Rupert,
Port McNeill or Port Hardy Hospitals, depending on community location. For
example, a patient in Wuikinuxv will be delivered to Port McNeill Hospital and a
patient in Kitkatla to Prince Rupert Hospital. Medevacs from the outlying coastal
communities also utilize the Bella Coola Hospital.
Helipads are located in each community, the original construction of which was
funded by the BC Government but the pads are maintained by the communities,
including snow clearing. In terms of night landings, the helicopter has a large
spotlight on its undercarriage to facilitate night landings and guide personnel on
the ground in loading and unloading. Communities have amber lights that
residents can set out on a temporary basis around the helipad to assist with guiding
the medevac helicopter.
Kitimat
The Northwest Regional Airport, which serves the communities of Terrace and
Kitimat, is located 5.6 km south of Terrace, and 73 km north of Kitimat. It is
owned and operated by the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society, an independent, nongovernmental
not-for-profit organization. The airport has two paved runways: one
is 7,500 feet long and the other is 5,373 feet. Both are 150 feet wide. In 2002, the
airport upgraded its instrument landing system and reliability of flight completion
increased dramatically. Prior to that time there were between 120 and 145 flights
per year that were diverted due to weather—since then there have been an
average of 16 flights per year missed due to weather.
The number of aircraft movements to and from the Northwest Regional Airport and
the total passengers in and out has increased substantially since 2003, by 67
percent and 36 percent respectively. The Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society believes
the increased volume is related to several factors—a dramatic increase in mineral
exploration activity in northwest British Columbia, planning activity related to
proposed pipeline projects, Pacific Coastal Airline’s new competitively-priced
service in the spring of 2007, and recent higher fuel prices has made air travel a
more cost-time effective option for many. 24 The Airport Society expects 2008
figures to be similar to 2007 as Pacific Coastal Air ceased operations in the spring
of 2008, and mineral exploration slowed during the summer.
24
It takes approximately 16 hours of travel time to drive by vehicle between Vancouver and Terrace (not
including stops or sleepovers).
Chisholm Consulting 19