Province Provides Firefighting Support to Western Provinces

NATURAL RESOURCES--Province Provides Firefighting Support to Western Provinces

Nova Scotia is sending more staff to help fight forest fires currently burning in western Canada.

Eleven staff of the Department of Natural Resources will travel to Kamloops, B.C. this weekend, Aug. 9 and 10. They are the second group of Natural Resources forest firefighters to head out west. Six crew members are currently helping fight forest fires in Alberta.

The 11 firefighters are expected to be in B.C. until the end of the month. The initial six firefighters will return to Nova Scotia in about a week's time.

The Department of Natural Resources is responding 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 and 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 will gain valuable experience from the assignment, increasing their ability to effectively fight large fires at home in the future.