Forests
British Columbia is sending additional firefighting resources to northern Alberta, as well as extending a helping hand to the State of Alaska.
Three 20-person unit crews, one agency rep and one airtanker group will arrive in Hinton, Alberta, today to replace personnel that are now homeward bound. A separate airtanker group has also been deployed to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to assist with initial attack efforts following lightning activity in the area.
Costs for the deployments will be borne by the Alberta and Alaska governments under cross-border mutual aid agreements. British Columbia will retain enough firefighting personnel and equipment to respond to changing conditions here. The fire danger rating for most of B.C. remains very low to moderate.
Quick Facts:
- More than 600 firefighters are currently in Alberta, marking the largest single deployment of resources to another province.
- An airtanker group consists of two airtankers and one "bird dog" aircraft.
- Airtankers do not put out fires. Their role is to control and limit a fire's spread so ground crews can get in and work toward containment.
Learn More:
Much of B.C. is experiencing hazy skies due to extreme wildfire activity in Alberta. Check out Bluesky, Western Canada's wildfire smoke forecaster, for hour-by-hour updates on smoke concentrations, http://www.bcairquality.ca/bluesky/index.html.
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
