Kyla Fraser, a Fire Information Officer with the BC Wildfire Service, says the province is sending firefighting personnel across the border, including some from here in the Cariboo…
“Out of 267 personnel that are going to Alberta, we have 23 firefighters that will be coming from the Cariboo Fire Centre.”
Fraser says Cariboo fire fighters will be in Alberta for a maximum of 19 days, although they can be recalled at any moment if they are needed back in B.C.
Here, she explains how the process works…
“All requests for assistance go through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, so they coordinate the sharing of fire fighting resources between BC and other jurisdictions, other provinces, so Alberta would have put in a request to see what resources other provinces have available, and then we fill them with anything that we can offer.”
Fraser says BC has benefited from some help in each of the past two years…
“Certainly after the last two seasons, some of the worst in our history, we certainly recognize the importance of sharing fire fighting resources and I think i can speak on behalf of the whole wildfire service that we’re certainly happy to help out other provinces in their time of need as well.”
A wildfire in Northern Alberta has led to the evacuation of High Level.
It is a level six fire which is at the top of the wildfire intensity scale.