Forests
British Columbia is deploying an additional group of firefighters and specialists to northern Alberta, marking the largest single deployment of B.C. resources to another province.
Together with deployments from last week, there will be 611 B.C. wildfire management personnel in Alberta helping to manage extreme wildfire activity.
An additional 10 three-person initial attack crews, two 20-person unit crews and one agency representative will arrive in Alberta today. The crews will be temporarily based in Hinton, where they will be briefed by Alberta officials, then assigned to specific fires. Two airtanker groups have returned home to British Columbia.
Costs for the ongoing 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. Sufficient crews will remain in B.C. should fire activity increase. Deployed personnel can be recalled at any time.
Quick Facts:
- B.C. has 140 specialized initial attack crews. These wildland firefighters are usually assigned to newer and smaller fires.
- B.C. has 29 highly trained unit crews, which are typically deployed to larger fires. Unit crews are extremely mobile. They establish pump and hose lines, dig fire guards and remove fuel from a wildfire's path using back burns.
- Agency representatives act as the link between the deployed crews and the Wildfire Management Branch.
Learn More:
B.C.'s Wildfire Management Branch is internationally recognized for its expertise, highly-trained personnel and innovative use of technology. Learn more about the province's team at: http://bcwildfire.ca/AboutUs/
You can also follow the latest B.C. wildfire news -
On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
On Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
Contact:
Cheekwan Ho
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 356-5261
