Seven Alberta firefighters are travelling to Australia to help battle massive fires in the country.
They are part of the fourth deployment to go and will help replace a crew that has been there since Dec. 3.
“Albertans everywhere understand the threat of wildfire, and what it’s like to be evacuated and be worried about your home, and to be in that state that a lot of people in Australia are feeling right now,” Alberta Wildfire information lead Christie Tucker said Saturday.
READ MORE: More Alberta firefighters heading to Australia to help
The firefighters deployed have decades of experience and are experts in their field.
“All personnel that we are sending are experienced personnel that have many fire seasons under their belt here in Canada. The roles they are assuming in Australia they’ve done here in Canada many times,” said Melanie Morin of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
“Australia asked for extra help in command positions, operations, logistics, aviation, fire behavior analysis — that’s what the Canadians we sent there will be doing.”
For Alberta Wildfire air attack officer Rob Anderson, it was tough to say goodbye to his seven-year-old son for 40 days. It’s the longest he will be gone from his family for work.
The call to help those suffering in Australia was too strong to turn down.
Get daily National news
“To me, it was just an opportunity that you shouldn’t pass up. In my 20 years in government, there has never been an opportunity like this,” he said.
“I will be up in the air, bird-dogging helicopters, bucketing and air tankers, as an air attack supervisor down there.”
Anderson said he helped fight the massive blazes in Fort McMurray and Slave Lake. He also fought fires in Alaska, but never overseas.
READ MORE: A look at the Australian wildfires Canadian firefighters are helping to battle
- Israelis erupt in protest to demand a cease-fire after 6 more hostages die in Gaza
- A German far-right party leads exit polls in one state election and is roughly level in another
- Russia says it downed over 150 drones in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks of the war
- A deadly storm sweeps through Japan and heavy rainfall could last for days
- Israelis erupt in protest to demand a cease-fire after 6 more hostages die in Gaza
- A German far-right party leads exit polls in one state election and is roughly level in another
- Russia says it downed over 150 drones in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks of the war
- A deadly storm sweeps through Japan and heavy rainfall could last for days
“Last night, one of my friends sent me a picture. It was 4 p.m. and it was black as black could be, and that was concerning, and the red sky,” Anderson said.
“I’ve seen that in Slave Lake before and in Fort McMurray, but it’s just eerie.”
The fire has destroyed hundreds of homes and killed more than 20 people, according to officials. The country is in the grip of a heatwave, which brings more challenges.
On Monday, more firefighters will be deployed from Canada.
Comments