Three dozen wildfire fighters landed at the Saskatoon airport Thursday morning after spending two weeks fighting wildfires in southern British Columbia.
“We’re always glad to be home. It was a long tour, so I think everybody is excited to take some days off and get rested up,” said Bud Sabean, a forest protection officer.
READ MORE: B.C. wildfire status Thursday: wildfires grow, putting communities on edge
The Saskatchewan group was fighting fires in Princeton, B.C., just north of the Canada-U.S. border.
“We’re always happy to go help another province when things aren’t busy here in Saskatchewan. We’re more than happy to go elsewhere. That’s what we do,” Sabean said.
Saskatchewan still has 48 firefighters and six specialists fighting fires in the Prince George area.
Kenneth Ballantyne was one of the Saskatchewan firefighters in Princeton. He lives in Prince Albert and has been a wildfire fighter for 18 years.
FULL COVERAGE: Wildfires burning around B.C.
There are around 150 wildfires burning in B.C, with over 4,000 personnel currently working on them.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says it’s expecting a number of new fires to start, with a very busy few days ahead.
Saskatchewan sending crews to help battle B.C. wildfires
In Saskatchewan, there are currently 25 active wildfires, much less than in recent years and most of them are contained.
Around 80 per cent of Saskatchewan’s firefighting crew members are still in the province; however, 18 air crew members have travelled to Montana.
“We’re also supporting our U.S. partners at the same time. We have aircraft, two groups of aircraft in Montana have been there for well over a week. They’re in their second week already,” said Steve Roberts, the executive director of Saskatchewan’s Wildfire Management.
There has been another resource order put in for more Saskatchewan help. Roberts said the crew is expected to be deployed this Saturday.
Comments