More Alberta firefighters sent to fight Australian wildfires

Seven firefighters from Edmonton will be leaving Saturday, with another five leaving Monday.

Canadian firefighters are already on location, with an estimated 15 in the province of Queensland on Monday.

Duty officer Stephen Tulle told CTV the contingent of Canadian wildfire fighters in Queensland and New South Wales will reach 87 by January 4.

The task can perhaps be seen as a reciprocal thank you, as Tulle stated that firefighters from Australia helped handle British Columbia’s blaze in 2017 and 2018. Firefighters headed to Australia will be made up of both men and women and will be from seven provinces (B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador), one territory (Yukon), and Parks Canada.

Tulle went on to say that Canadian firefighters will spend roughly six weeks in Australia to perform primarily fire-manager duties related to logistics and aviation management. More crews will continue to be sent down as Australia continues to request help.

The Australian wildfires have been the country’s worst in history, with over 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land scorched, and 19 people killed. More than 1,400 homes are predicted to have been destroyed. Victoria authorities say 28 people are also reported missing.