Forests
British Columbia will send more than 120 B.C. wildland firefighters to Alberta this week to help fight fires threatening Slave Lake and outlying communities.
Six 20-person unit crews, six strike team leaders and three agency representatives have been put on standby to respond when requested by Alberta's Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development. Because the fire situation is changing rapidly, Alberta officials are still determining the best locations to base B.C. crews.
Costs for a deployment will be covered by the Alberta government under the Mutual Aid Resources Sharing Agreement, which allows for the movement of firefighting resources across Canada. British Columbia will maintain sufficient firefighting capacity to respond to conditions here. Deployed personnel can be recalled at any time.
Quick Facts:- Wildland firefighters across Canada follow the Incident Command System, which is an internationally recognized standard for organizing emergency personnel. This ensures a seamless response in any province.
- The public reports nearly half of all wildfires in B.C.
- Report smoke and flames by calling *5555 on mobile phones or 1 800 663-5555.
Learn More:
For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions in B.C., visit the Wildfire Management Branch website at: www.bcwildfire.ca
You can also follow the latest wildfire news
On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/BCGovFireInfo
On Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
Contact:
Kim Steinbart
Provincial Fire Information Officer
Wildfire Management Branch
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 312-3051
