**** LANDS/FORESTRY Release
Nova Scotia Sending Wildfire Crews to Help Provinces Battling Fires
Nova Scotia has answered the call to help fight wildfires in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia.
Twenty-three Department of Lands and Forestry wildland firefighters and one agency representative will fight alongside other crews to gain control of forest fires that are currently burning out of control.
They will leave Halifax on Friday, July 16, and join other Atlantic Canadian firefighters to form two 17-person crews headed to Thunder Bay, Ont., and Winnipeg, Man.
Nova Scotia also sent one fire investigator to British Columbia last week.
Current fire conditions in Nova Scotia allow for resources to be shared. The Department of Lands and Forestry will ensure proper firefighting resources are maintained within the province.
Nova Scotia is a member of the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement, which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help if forest fires become too large to handle. The affected province covers the costs of the jurisdictions that are sending help.
Quick Facts:
— requests for assistance from other jurisdictions are coordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
— crews follow strict protocols to reduce transmission of COVID-19 so they can work safely during fire management operations in other jurisdictions
Additional Resources:
National Fire Situation Report: http://ciffc.net/en/ciffc/ext/public/sitrep/
Lands and Forestry on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NSLandsForestry
