The BC Wildfire Service is sending personnel to Alberta and Ontario to aid in fire response efforts, announced Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson today.

Five unit crews (100 firefighters), two agency representatives, and nine support personnel are expected to arrive in Hinton, Alberta on Wednesday, May 25. After being briefed in Hinton, staff from B.C. will be deployed to assist in in the Horse River wildfire near Fort McMurray.

Five unit crews (100 firefighters), two agency representatives, and a 10-person Incident Management Team will arrive in Thunder Bay, Ontario on Thursday, May 26.The crews and support personnel will assist with increased wildfire activity in northern Ontario.

Crews can be deployed for up to 19 days, but can be recalled at any time should conditions change in B.C. Considering the current level of fire activity and forecasted decrease in fire activity throughout B.C., British Columbia is able to lend assistance to Alberta and Ontario.

Sufficient personnel and resources will remain in B.C. to respond appropriately to any fire activity and to continue the ongoing fire response efforts in the Peace Region.

Requests for assistance were made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. All associated costs are covered by the jurisdiction requesting the resources.

Quote:

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson –

“Now that the level of fire activity has decreased in B.C., I am pleased that we are able to increase our level of assistance to Alberta and to provide assistance to Ontario. B.C. has benefited from the assistance of crews from both provinces during previous fire seasons.”

Quick Facts:

• Unit crew: The firefighting crews being deployed are configured as 20-person sustained action “unit crews” that typically works on large fires and can be self-sufficient in the field for up to 72 hours at a time. Crew members receive extensive training and must be fully capable of demonstrating skills such as: fire behavior knowledge, fire management tactics, and fireline equipment use.
• Agency representative: Acts as the link between the deployed crews and the BC Wildfire Service.

Learn More:

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

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