The Wildfire Management Branch is sending an additional 22 personnel and two aircraft to the Yukon Territory to assist with wildfire response operations. They will depart today.

The request for assistance was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates the mutual sharing of firefighting resources between B.C. and other provinces and territories.

The personnel being deployed to the Yukon consist of a 20-person unit crew from the Northwest Fire Centre and two Operation Section Chiefs from elsewhere in the province. The airtanker group will be deployed from Fort St. John.

These personnel will join 24 other Wildfire Management Branch staff that departed for the Yukon this morning. Additional crews and aircraft were deployed earlier this week to assist with wildfires burning in Alaska.

Given the current and forecasted provincial fire situation, sufficient personnel and resources remain in B.C. to respond appropriately to wildfire activity in the province. Crews can be deployed for up to 19 days, but can be recalled at any time.

Costs associated with deployment will be covered by the receiving jurisdictions under the Mutual Aid Resources Sharing Agreement, which allows for the movement of firefighting resources throughout Canada.

Quick Facts:

• Unit Crew: a 20-person, sustained action crew that typically works on large fires and can be self-sufficient in the field for up to 72 hours at a time.

• Operations Section Chief: a field-level supervisor who oversees firefighters and suppression crews at the site of a fire.

• Airtanker group: consists of one or more airtankers and a "birddog" aircraft that support crews on the ground by dropping retardant around a wildfire.

Learn More:

For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions in B.C., visit: www.bcwildfire.ca

You can also follow the latest B.C. wildfire news -

• On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo

• On Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo

Media Contact:

Kevin Skrepnek
Fire Information Officer
Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre
Wildfire Management Branch
250 312-3075