By:Jessica Wallace
Kamloops This Week
A Kamloops couple that helped douse a grass fire before it spread on Shuswap Road was in the right place at the right time with the right boat.
Engaged couple Tasha Hunt, 33, and Koyne Watson, 43, is being heralded a hero after co-piloting their 1987 Eliminator Scorpion jet boat on the South Thompson River on Saturday to help Kamloops Fire Rescue douse flames of a grass fire that sparked on Shuswap Road. The couple had been taking their boat for a test drive on the water at about 4 p.m. when they saw smoke.
91裸聊视频淲e saw it smouldering and we thought, 91裸聊视频極h my god, there91裸聊视频檚 a fire!91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Hunt told KTW in an interview. 91裸聊视频淪o we phoned it in and we headed over there. The flames had taken off. We spun the boat around. He [Watson] just started making passes. He was going around and around. He said, 91裸聊视频極h my god, am I getting it?91裸聊视频� I said, 91裸聊视频楰oyne! You91裸聊视频檙e putting out the flames!91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
The couple did about eight loops, overheating and damaging their boat engine after hitting the gas and shooting river water onto the flames. Sometimes they missed, but other shots were a direct hit.
91裸聊视频淲e probably did it about eight times,91裸聊视频� Hunt said. 91裸聊视频淏ut I think we probably only did about four or five direct hits.91裸聊视频�
Other boaters watched and filmed the action. The following Facebook video shot from a nearby boat has more than 100,000 views and has been shared almost 2,000 times.
Those who have commented on the video are calling the feat brilliant, impressive and quick-thinking.
91裸聊视频淲homever you are, you are my hero,91裸聊视频� wrote one commenter.
Watson is owner of Cobra Heavy Iron excavating company and Hunt is a hair stylist at Ardeo Spa Salon. Watson lent a hand battling the historic regional blazes of 2003 91裸聊视频� but has never doused flames from the water.
91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 a smart-thinking man, I tell you,91裸聊视频� Hunt said. 91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 quick on his feet. I would have never thought of that.91裸聊视频�
Watson focused on driving, while Hunt navigated.
91裸聊视频淲e are always co-piloting,91裸聊视频� Watson said.
Other boaters cheered from their vessels on the river. A nearby pontoon boat filled with kids calling Watson a 91裸聊视频渉ero91裸聊视频� could not have performed the feat of the couple91裸聊视频檚 jet boat, known for its speed and equipped with a 555 engine and 8-71 blower.
91裸聊视频淚 can shoot water up in the air,91裸聊视频� Watson said.
Kamloops Fire Rescue platoon captain David Ferguson said crews, with assistance from a forestry helicopter, arrived on scene after the call. The fire temporarily closed Shuswap Road in both directions, but the grass fire was extinguished quickly.
While Ferguson was not at the scene, he said fires in these hot and dry conditions move quickly and any help 91裸聊视频� when it is safe to do so 91裸聊视频� can prevent fires from spreading before crews can arrive on scene.
91裸聊视频淎s long as you91裸聊视频檙e not endangering people on the water, any chance we can get to help keep the fire from progressing helps,91裸聊视频� Ferguson said.
