Since early June, Vancouver Island Helicopters and a crew of pilots and maintenance and support teams have been attacking wildfires from Quebec and the Northwest Territories to Alberta and British Columbia. Among other rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, the North Saanich-based company is using its S-92A Sikorsky Fire Raptor. VIH is the first to convert this particular model of Sikorsky for firefighting. It’s normally used in search and rescue, the heavy-lift industry and to ferry heads of state. …VIH crews have moved steadily west since the wildfire season began. Chief operating officer Jen Norie said the Fire Raptors and the company’s converted S-61 Sikorsky helicopters are proving their worth. …In August, Port Alberni-based Coulson Aviation purchased 10 C-130 Hercules airplanes from the federal government with plans to convert them to firefighting tankers. Coulson hopes at least two of the massive planes will be ready to fight wildfires in B.C. by next season.