Nearly 700 firefighters from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States are expected to arrive in Canada over the next two weeks to help with the unusually intense start to the wildfire season.
Already more than 500 firefighters, incident commanders and other international workers are on the front line in Alberta and about 100 more arrived from the United States on Friday.
The Western Province has been battling several serious fires since the beginning of May. About sixty are in progress, 18 of which are not mastered.
The Canadian Armed Forces also mobilized several hundred soldiers in Alberta last month to lend a hand. They are training more troops to now help Nova Scotia, said federal Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.
The military and the Canadian Coast Guard are also providing support with equipment, he added.
The Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center (CIFFC) reported that as of Friday afternoon, 324 fires were burning across the country, and 167 are considered out of control. This includes the Tantallon fire in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which has destroyed or damaged 151 homes so far.
This latest report represents a significant jump from Thursday, when the agency counted 209 fires, including 87 uncontrolled.
The number of fires, their size and severity, and the number of locations affected are straining Canada’s resources. CIFFC therefore requested assistance from international partners.
Since the start of the season, 443 firefighters and other workers from Australia, New Zealand and the United States have traveled to Canada, mainly to Alberta. Some have gone to the Northwest Territories and a small number so far have landed in Nova Scotia.
Australia, New Zealand and the United States will all mobilize more firefighters in the coming days, Blair said. Most are heading back to Alberta, but some will be flying to Nova Scotia.
Additionally, six water bombers from Montana are scheduled to arrive in Nova Scotia to assist Friday and Saturday, after being cleared to use the airstrip at Canadian Armed Forces Base Greenwood.
“I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to all the firefighters, emergency management professionals, who have left their communities and, in some cases, their country, to support our efforts here in Canada,” said Mr. Blair. We are grateful for their work and dedication. »
The South African High Commission in Ottawa announced on Friday that 200 firefighters and 15 executives would leave South Africa on Saturday and travel to Alberta for 35 days. 200 other firefighters and 13 executives are expected to follow on June 10.
South Africa’s Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said it was the fifth time the two countries have shared firefighting personnel.
“The extensive experience and training of these firefighters will greatly enhance efforts to suppress and manage wildfires in Alberta,” she said in a statement.
South African aid has not been without controversy in the past. In 2016, 300 firefighters flew to Fort McMurray to help with the major blaze that forced the city’s evacuation, but a month-long deployment lasted less than two weeks due to a pay dispute .
Foreign firefighters receive stipends and additional pay when fighting fires in foreign jurisdictions. South African firefighters had complained that their wages in Alberta had been less than what Canadians were pocketing.
Minister Blair assured that the salary would be settled correctly this time around.
Still for several weeks
Blair said Friday that cooler weather is expected in Western Canada and rain in Nova Scotia, which should help improve the situation. But severe fire warnings are expected to continue in most provinces for at least another four to five weeks.
“The situation remains serious across the country,” Blair said. We hope the improved weather and rain will help with firefighting efforts, but there is still a lot of work to be done. »
Fires have covered more than 27,000 square kilometers in Canada in the past two months, more than 10 times the average area of land burned by fires in the past decade.
So far, more than 96% of the burned soils have been in Western Canada and the Northwest Territories, but this past weekend the situation worsened in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and now parts of Ontario and Quebec are also affected.
“There are a number of very large fires — over 100 that have now broken out in Quebec — and some of them are out of control and quite severe,” Blair said.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center database shows 113 fires in Quebec since Thursday, and 76 of them are classified as uncontained.