News release

B.C. Requests More Help From Fire Crews

Natural Resources (to July 2018)

Eight provincial Department of Natural Resources firefighters headed to Kootenay National Park in British Columbia on Sunday, Aug. 17, to help combat forest fires that have been ravaging western Canada for more than a month. British Columbia alone has about 880 active fires.

The Natural Resources staff members are the third group of firefighters to head west in recent weeks.

A team of six currently in Alberta is expected to return to Nova Scotia this week.

The Natural Resources staff who just left, including a five- member helitack crew, are expected to be in B.C. until early September. Helitack are specialized initial-attack personnel who are transported by helicopters to remote fires. Their level of experience will complement the wide-ranging experience of the other crew members on the fire line. They will be joined by 10 Newfoundland fire personnel and two firefighters from Prince Edward Island.

The decision to send additional staff is again in response to requests for assistance under the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement administered by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The centre is the national organization responsible for co-ordinating the sharing of critical forest fire resources in Canada. Nova Scotia is a full participating member of the organization. The agreement provides rapid assistance and standardized costs for the benefit of all Canadian fire agencies.

Wet weather conditions in Nova Scotia, and the associated reduced fire risk, are making it possible for the province to provide the additional fire-fighting services. The costs associated with this assistance are fully recoverable and will not reduce Nova Scotia's fire-fighting budget.

Nova Scotia staff gain valuable experience from these assignments, increasing their ability to effectively fight large fires at home in the future.