More than 200 firefighters from British Columbia will be heading south of the border to help with disastrous wildfires in Oregon.
Premier John Horgan said even more BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) staff – 800 of them – volunteered to go and help the Americans.
"That is just extraordinary, and it speaks volumes about our compassion and our commitment to helping each other,” Horgan said.
“I'm very proud of those individuals."
The BCWS firefighters will be deployed in Redmond, Oregon.
They will be used “as needed,” the BC government explained.
There is no single solution to #wildfires of this magnitude. We are all in this together in confronting the challenges we face: adapting to warmer, dryer conditions; increasing the scope of forest treatments; strengthening community preparedness & preventing human-caused fires. pic.twitter.com/0KizHbL5Yt
— Forest Service NW (@ForestServiceNW) September 17, 2020
The province has also been in touch with Washington and Oregon about the possibility of an additional 200 personnel being sent down south in the coming days.
Sufficient resources will remain in BC to respond “appropriately” to any fires at home, the province added.
"Here in British Columbia, we've been fortunate to have experienced a moderate wildfire season, but our neighbours to the south have not been so lucky," said Minister of Forest Doug Donaldson.
"BC firefighters who are willing to be deployed out of the country during this challenging time deserve a lot of credit for their professionalism."
“Extraordinary precautions” will be taken to protect against the spread of COVID-19 during the operations, the government stressed.
BCWS staff will remain in their own bubble and conduct operations separate from their American equivalents.
The request from the US states was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which coordinates the mutual sharing of firefighting resources between BC and other jurisdictions.
All associated costs will be covered by the jurisdiction that requested the resources, including BCWS staff quarantine time upon their return to Canada.
Firefighters from Alberta and Quebec have already been dispatched to help in the US.
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