‘It’s great to know that there’s backup’: Alberta firefighters arrive in B.C.

The first Alberta crews called in to help B.C. battle a ballooning number of wildfires arrived in Canada’s westernmost province Monday.

“There is three 20-person crews as well as another crew of about 35 that are an incident management team,” Leslie Lozinski, a forestry information officer with Alberta Environment, said from the Kamloops area.

More Alberta firefighters were expected to arrive on Tuesday, she added.

READ MORE: B.C. wildfires 2017: How you can help

Help has poured in from across Canada three days after wildfires prompted B.C. to declare a province-wide state of emergency.

Lozinski said helping provincial neighbours fight the flames is especially meaningful for many Alberta firefighters because of all the help they had fighting the Fort McMurray wildfire last year.

“Lots of provinces came to help us, including B.C., and we’re happy to be able to return the favour,” she said.

READ MORE: ‘Fort McMurray has your back’: Residents offer advice to B.C. evacuees

“It’s great to know that there’s backup,” Lozinski added.

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“It’s great to know that you can take some time off, get rested, regroup and come back to the fire line. That’s really important.”

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An estimated 218 fires were burning across the province as of Monday morning; they’ve led to about 14,000 people being forced from their homes.

READ MORE: B.C. wildfire status Monday: 14,000 residents forced from their homes

Watch below: Videos from Global News’ ongoing coverage of the wildfires burning in B.C. in July 2017.

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• Goodale outlines the current state of B.C. wildfires – and how the federal government is responding
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Lozinski said Alberta firefighters don’t yet know where they’ll be deployed but said they’ll likely be sent to a fire where no crew has had a chance to fight it yet.

READ MORE: Alberta understands toll of wildfires, sending help to B.C.: Premier Rachel Notley

On Monday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said provincial officials will stay in touch with their B.C. counterparts and continue to help in any way they can.

Watch below: A truckload of supplies from Fort McMurray arrived in Kamloops, B.C. Monday, from residents knowing all too well what those affected by the B.C. wildfires are going through. Kim Smith reports.

1:39 Fort McMurray sends truckload of supplies to help with B.C. wildfires

READ MORE: Ready for evacuation? How to prepare and where to get information on when to leave