the army arrives in the province of Alberta to support the firefighters

Canada has sent the army to help the province of Alberta fight fires that have scorched more than 410,000 hectares, a situation that could worsen before temperatures rise over the weekend. “The Canadian Forces will assist firefighters and provide airlift, help evacuate isolated communities and keep people safe”explained the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Thursday, May 12 on Twitter.

Alberta officially asked for help from the federal government on Monday, two days after declaring a state of emergency. A total of 200 soldiers have been deployed and another 100 are expected to arrive shortly, authorities said. “The Canadian Armed Forces will deploy throughout Alberta to support us with cleanup operations and basic firefighting duties, but also airlift and engineering support.”added the Premier of the province.

A few days of cooler weather gave firefighters some respite, allowing the number of fires to be reduced and some residents to return home. Some 80 fires were still active Thursday, 23 of them out of control. The vast majority of these blazes are of human origin.