A wanted man, who reportedly lit a signal fire which got away from him, had to be rescued by helicopter from a mountainside in Hope on Thursday.
The incident unfolded throughout the day in Silver Creek, near exit 168 off Highway 1 on July 3.
The man was stuck on the mountain that morning so he lit a signal fire which "got away on him," said Daryn Berry, director of maintenance with Valley Helicopters.
“Through the day people could hear him calling for help,” Berry said.
Hope RCMP were called to the 19000 block of Klassen Road to assist other first responders with an active wildfire on the mountainside. BC Wildfire Service lists the fire as human-caused.
"During the course of this response, a man could be heard yelling for help in the same area," Sgt. Mike Sargent with Hope RCMP stated in an email to The Chilliwack Progress.
Hope Search and Rescue, along with Chilliwack Search and Rescue, were called out to rescue him around 6:30 p.m.
"Once the wildfire was controlled, Hope and Chilliwack Search and Rescue located a 27-year-old man stranded along one of the cliff faces," Sargent said.
Collaborating with Valley Helicopters and pilot/owner Brad Fandrich, the search-and-rescue teams performed a long-line rescue to pluck the uninjured man from the mountainside.
"The man was determined to have several outstanding warrants for his arrest. Cayden Blackwell was taken into custody and will appear in court today (July 4)," Sargent said.
"The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation," he added.
Before rescuing the man in the evening, the Valley Helicopters team was helping to extinguish the forest fire from above after it was spotted early that morning.
Berry said Thursday was "just another day."
