Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas.
Port Alberni is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. Port Alberni currently has a total population of 18,259.
The Alberni–Clayoquot Regional District of British Columbia is located on west central Vancouver Island. Adjacent regional districts it shares borders with are the Strathcona and Comox Valley Regional Districts to the north, and the Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley Regional Districts to the east. The regional district offices are located in Port Alberni.
Highway 4 is the longest east–west main vehicle route on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, with a total length of 162 km (101 mi). It is known locally as the Alberni Highway to the east of Port Alberni and the Pacific Rim Highway to the west. The original highway from Parksville to Alberni and Port Alberni was completed in 1942 and was originally designated as Highway 1A. It was re-designated as Highway 4 in 1953, and was extended in 1961 to the district of Tofino, on the west coast of the Island.
The Martin JRM Mars is a large, four-engined cargo transport flying boat designed and built by the Martin Company for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the largest Allied flying boat to enter production, although only seven were built. The United States Navy contracted the development of the XPB2M-1 Mars in 1938 as a long-range ocean patrol flying boat, which later entered production as the JRM Mars long-range transport.
Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing aircraft, or rappelling from helicopters. Chemicals used to fight fires may include water, water enhancers such as foams and gels, and specially formulated fire retardants such as Phos-Chek.
Gilbert Malcolm Sproat was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman, office holder, and author.
Port Alberni/Sproat Lake Water Aerodrome is located adjacent to Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada.
Fossli Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on Stirling Arm of Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island. The 52-hectare park, west of Port Alberni, is accessible by water or private logging road. It has few services, but has a 30-minute hiking trail to an old homestead site. The homestead belonged to Helen and Armour Ford, who donated the land for the park to the province in 1974. Saint Andrew's Creek runs through the park, and is a fall spawning ground for coho salmon.
Sproat Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park near Port Alberni in British Columbia, Canada's Vancouver Island. Its name derives from a lake named after 19th century entrepreneur and colonial official Gilbert Malcolm Sproat.
Taylor Arm Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the north side of Sproat Lake 23 km northwest of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Situated along Highway 4, the 71-hectare park has few services but provides group camping sites, undeveloped beaches, and day-use areas. The group camping site has pit toilets and a hand pump water supply, and is connected to the lake shore via a trail that passes under the highway.
Great Central Lake is a lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located north of Sproat Lake and to the northwest of the city of Port Alberni. It is 45 kilometres (28 mi) long, with an area of 50.85 square kilometres (19.63 sq mi) and mean depth of 124 metres (407 ft), to a maximum of 250 metres (820 ft), making it the second deepest lake on Vancouver Island. The lake is long and narrow, with the exception of Trestle Bay located on the east end of the lake. It is nestled beneath low mountains, with second-growth forest surrounding most of the lake. The water level is controlled by a dam on the east side.
Mill Bay is a commuter town of about 7,200 people located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada about 30 km (19 mi) north of Victoria, the capital. It is part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
The Hupacasath First Nation is a First Nations government based in the Alberni Valley on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. An alternate spelling of Hupacasath is Opetchesaht or Opitchesaht. Hupacasath First Nation consists of approximately 300 members across five reserves.
Alberni Valley is a broad valley located at the head of Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is home to Port Alberni, Sproat Lake and other outlining areas. The term is largely used as a synonym for Greater Port Alberni and adjoining communities but is used in a larger regional sense as well. Various local organizations and companies use the term "Alberni Valley" in their name, e.g. the Alberni Valley Times and Alberni Valley News newspapers the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs minor hockey team. The Canadian pioneer, Joe Drinkwater lived in Alberni Valley during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Somass River is a river on Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is 1,412 square kilometres (545 sq mi) in size.
The Beaufort Range is a mountain range on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located north of Port Alberni and to the west of Qualicum Beach, and running from Horne Lake in the southeast to Comox Lake in the northwest. It has an area of 448 km2 and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in turn form part of the Insular Mountains.
Klitsa Mountain is a prominent mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located 26 km (16 mi) west of Beaver Creek and 59 km (37 mi) southeast of Golden Hinde. It can be viewed from Highway 4 along Sproat Lake. It is the second highest mountain in the Alberni Valley area, after Mount Arrowsmith. its name derives from a Nuu-Chah-Nulth word meaning "always white".
Cameron Lake is a lake in central Vancouver Island located 15 km east of Port Alberni, on the north side of Highway 4. It has an area of 477 hectares and an elevation of 184 metres above sea level. The lake is between Mount Arrowsmith to the south and Mount Wesley to the north. The lake was named by Captain Richards in 1860 for David Cameron, the first Chief Justice of Vancouver Island.
Air Spray (1967) Ltd. trading as Air Spray Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Air Spray USA Inc of Chico, California is a private company specializing in aerial wildfire suppression using air tanker or water bomber aircraft. Air Spray was owned and operated by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame inductee, Donald T. Hamilton until his passing in 2011. The company continues to be owned and operated by his daughter, Lynn Hamilton, of Foothills, Alberta.
