Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
More NSW firefighters heading to Canada
Australia will more than double its firefighting force in Canada as wildfires continue to rage in the country’s west.
August 9, 2017
An additional 100 firefighters from NSW and the ACT are flying to Canada to help battle massive wildfires burning in British Columbia.
Forty firefighters left from Sydney on Wednesday, with the remaining 60 set to fly out Thursday morning.
They join 78 Australians already fighting 122 fires burning across the western province where 45,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, while a state of emergency is in place.
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant said Australia was answering Canada’s call for firefighters with remote area firefighting skills.
“The firefighters we are sending across in this placement are specialists,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“They are highly trained, fit and have experience dealing with arduous isolated conditions.”
Rural Fire Service (RFS) deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said it will be Australia’s third deployment to Canada in recent months to fight the massive fires.
“Crews in Canada are facing incredibly tough conditions.”
The specialist firefighters leaving this week will join Australian incident management and aviation personnel already on the ground in Canada, he said.
The contingent of 100 personnel is made up of 40 representatives from the NSW RFS, 30 from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 25 from the ACT Rural Fire Service, and five from Forestry Corporation of NSW.
They will join more than 3000 people and 200 planes fighting the blazes.