Fire crews from the Ministry of Natural Resources are out in British Columbia and Saskatchewan to help fight forest fires that have burned more than 8,500 hectares of forest to date.
The east region has sent 106 fire personnel to Saskatchewan and B.C. in the first wave of help, according to Lindsay Munroe, the east region fire information officer.
She said it is always possible there will be more people sent to help, but it depends on the weather and fire conditions both here and in Saskatchewan and B.C.
Munroe said 123 fire personnel from the west region of the province are fighting fires outside of Ontario.
According to the national wildland fire situation report from Natural Resources Canada, there are eight priority fires burning in B.C., which have burned more than 8,500 hectares of forest.
Natural Resources Canada's website stated the agency predicts the fire threat to increase to extreme in B.C., northern Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan during the week.
Williams Lake in B.C., with more than 100 active fires burning in the area, received the bulk of the firefighters from the east region. The MNR sent:
- Five initial attack fire crews, made up of four people each
- One 20 pack, made up of 20 people and used for sustained attack on large project fires
- Two incident management teams, which will be in charge of the fire operations for specifically designated area
- One type 1 incident commander
- Two type 3 incident commanders
- Two division supervisors
- One plans section chief
- One agency representative
Saskatchewan received one 20 pack of firefighters to combat the fires burning in the northern reaches of the province.
