Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Twenty-five New Zealand firefighting personnel have been selected to head to the province of Alberta to help fight a number of wildfires that are raging across the Western part of Canada.
The New Zealand contingent of four five-person crews, an agency representative, taskforce leader, two air specialists and an incident commander are scheduled to leave New Zealand on Wednesday, joining a 200-strong Australian contingent that will support Canada’s firefighting operations.
Our contingent will specifically be assisting with arduous conditions firefighting, incident management requirements, and air operations.
The situation in western Canada is significant, with large wildfires burning across the area just north of the US-Canada border.
A particular drought through the Province of Alberta has lingered since their autumn, with fire activity starting early: over 500 fires and over 750,000 ha burned to date in their spring.
There are roughly 90 active blazes in Alberta with more than 20,000 people evacuated from their homes and oil and gas production affected because of shifting fire conditions.
“Fighting fires of this magnitude is a hugely demanding task. We’re happy to provide support to our Canadian colleagues,” Steph Rotarangi, Deputy National Commander Fire and Emergency New Zealand says.
“It’s extremely tough firefighting conditions in Canada just now with unseasonably hot, tinder-dry weather and shifting wind elevating the risk of wildfires spreading in an area already under pressure.”
“Deploying overseas is a valuable development opportunity for those involved. It gives them experience in different environments that they can bring back here and apply to New Zealand wildfires,” Steph Rotarangi says.
