Over 250 BC firefighters and support staff arrive in Alberta
Posted May 24, 2019 10:49 am.
KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – Firefighters and support staff from across BC have arrived in Alberta to help battle a growing wildfire raging in that province.
The Chuckegg Creek wildfire is burning in the High Level Forest Area of Alberta and has forced about 5,000 people out of their homes. As of Friday morning, the fire covers 993 square kilometres compared to 976 square kilometres on Thursday.
The #BCWildfire Service will be supplying @AlbertaWildfire with 267 BCWS personnel to assist with its increasing wildfire threat. To all those responding to wildfires in Alberta, we wish you safety and success! More info: https://t.co/lSFIgNC2pL
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) May 21, 2019
Kyla Fraser with the BC Wildfire Service says BC has provided a team of 267 people.
“That number that we have there is just what we were willing to supply to them to make sure that we still had enough resources here to respond to any fires that come up in BC,” she says.
It’s a different situation than last year’s wildfire season, when BC didn’t send any firefighters to Alberta. Instead, Alberta sent support to BC as the province dealt with a record breaking wildfire season.
RELATED: High Level fire still out of control as more firefighters arrive
“For the last two seasons we’ve faced some really difficult situations and we’ve gotten help from provinces, including Alberta, so I think that everyone’s quite happy that we’re able to assist them when they’re facing a similar situation,” says Fraser.
The firefighters from BC are set to spend over two weeks in Alberta, although Fraser assures the deployment won’t affect the support BC has, should the wildfire situation worsen.
“We’re making sure that we have enough resources here to respond to any situations that arise and in addition to that, the crews can only be deployed there for up to 19 days but we can also recall them at any time.”
WATCH: Firefighters from other provinces fight Alberta wildfires
While BC didn’t sent any firefighters to Alberta last year, the province did provide a team of 45 to Ontario and 100 to Quebec.
Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have also sent help to Alberta.
