Coulson Aviation is expanding its firefighting operations into Chile

PRESS RELEASE November 15, 2019

Port Alberni, BC – Today, a new firefighting operation begins for Coulson Aviation and the CH47D Chinook in Chile. For the next 100 days, Coulson Aviation will be working with its new partner PESCO and CONAF to fight against this wildfire season.

The National Forest Corporation (CONAF) is a Chilean non-profit organization, through which Chile contributes to the management of the country's forest resources. Together with the new partner PESCO, a leading company in equipment and machinery for the forestry, mining, environmental, municipal, and emergency industries, Coulson Aviation is bringing their expertise in firefighting into Chile.

Chile has faced devastating wildfires in the past. The worst wildfire in Chile’s modern history happened two years ago and killed at least 11 people, destroyed a town, and around 600,000 hectares of land. Climate change and the replacement of native forest with flammable eucalyptus and pine plantations is a growing threat of wildfires to Chile. Over the recent years, Chile has seen an increasing number of larger wildfires as well as an extended wildfire period. This year, Chile expects the area burned by wildfires to double compared to last year.

“It’s exciting to see our company constantly evolving and now operating on three continents, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.” Britt Coulson, Coulson Aviation, “Our goal is to create a lasting presence in Chile for years to come.”

The partnership between Coulson Aviation and PESCO will test methods to contain the wildfires in Chile, further expanding Coulson Aviation’s global reach and industrial leadership.