Puntzi Mountain Airport

Puntzi Mountain Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorMinistry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Provincial Airtanker Centre
LocationPuntzi Mountain, British Columbia
Time zonePST (UTC−08:00)
 • Summer (DST)PDT (UTC−07:00)
Elevation AMSL2,985 ft / 910 m
Coordinates52°06′46″N 124°08′41″W / 52.11278°N 124.14472°W / 52.11278; -124.14472
Map
CYPU
Location in British Columbia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23 6,012 1,832 Asphalt
Source: Canada Flight Supplement[1]

Puntzi Mountain Airport (ICAO: CYPU) is located 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi) west of Puntzi Mountain, British Columbia, Canada.

History

The airport was established in 1951 to provide access to a radar station of the Pinetree Line. It was the second-longest airstrip in British Columbia at the time. Thirteen Caterpillar D8 bulldozers were on site to keep the runway graded and, in winter, cleared of snow. There were 100 American servicemen and a few Canadian servicemen, some with families, staffed the base at Puntzi, which also hired local Tsilhqotʼin people.[2]

An automatic weather station has been in operation at the airport since March 1993.[3]

References

  1. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 27 November 2025 to 0901Z 22 January 2026.
  2. ^ Makuk: A New History of Aboriginal-White Relations, John Sutton Lutz, UBC Press, 2008, pp. 153-154
  3. ^ "Daily Data Report for March 1993 Puntzi Mountain". climate.weather.gc.ca. Environment and Climate Change Canada. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.