First group of Manitoba firefighters headed to B.C. to help battle wildfires

The first group of Manitoba firefighters is heading west to help fight the wildfires in British Columbia.

Thirteen men, stationed across northern Manitoba in communities like Thompson and Norway House, have all volunteered to go.

One of them, Mark Moffat, said it was a no brainer.

“We were just working on base as usual and we got called up to have a little meeting. Our boss asked if we wanted to go to B.C. and ‘heck yeah, right?’ of course we want to go,” he said.

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READ MORE: B.C. wildfire status Thursday: New evacuation order in place but fire crews make progress

Moffat and the rest of the team will fly to Vancouver and then board another plane to Prince George. From there, they’ll be sent to wherever their help is needed.

More than 14,000 people have been forced from their homes because of the wildfires in B.C., with thousands more on evacuation alert.

“That’s why you get in this job,” said firefighter Braden Riley before he boarded the plane.

“We’re going to meet a lot of great people over there and be able to help a lot of great people.”

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READ MORE: B.C. wildfires map 2017: Current location of wildfires around the province

It’s unclear right now whether Manitoba might send more crews out west in the future. That depends on the situation in British Columbia and whether any major fires start up here at home.

So far, it’s been a slower year for wildfires in Manitoba, according to Riley.

This crew is scheduled to be on the ground in B.C. for 19 days.