Helicopter pilots equipped with night-vision goggles helped stop a wildfire from reaching dozens of Okanagan homes this week.

They were able to bucket water for several hours overnight precisely onto a blaze sparked by a burning motorhome that had crashed off Highway 97 in Peachland about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

It’s the first full year for province-wide deployment of BC Wildfire Service air crews equipped with night vision goggles, and the technology, along with on-the-ground efforts, was key to preventing the Peachland fire from turning into a major conflagration.

“There’s a number of factors that are considered when using night-vision technology,” BCWS information officer Eliza Balkwill said in an interview.

Those considerations include topography, smoke condition, and the proximity of hom

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