Nine western Quebec firefighters have landed in Edmonton to fight wildfires that have been burning out of control in Alberta for the past several weeks.
They were part of a group of 40 who flew out of airports in Ottawa and Quebec Sunday, as that province ramps up its support of Alberta’s firefighting efforts.
In addition to boots on the ground, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) has also sent over two air tankers, two pilots, two technicians, about 2,000 water hoses and a representative with the fire protection agency.
When wildfires break out, it’s common for resources to be shared as part of a national mutual aid agreement, SOPFEU spokesperson Josée Poitras told Radio-Canada in a French-language interview.
Quebec has often received outside help when they’ve been overwhelmed with wildfires, Poitras said.
“So here, we’re going to lend a hand because we can afford to at the moment,” she said.
Fires expected to get worse this week
As of Sunday, 34 of the 135 fires in Alberta’s forest protection area were out of control, according to Alberta Wildfire.
Melissa Story, an information officer with the agency, told reporters in an update Sunday that while rain helped bring some of those fires under control over the weekend, they’re “expecting to see more elevated fire danger later this week” as the weather gets warmer.
SOPFEU’s firefighters will be in the province for a two-week mission in the field, but it’s not clear where they’ll be deployed.
While Story says support for Parks Canada — the lead agency in the fire response in Jasper, where fires have burned 32,000 hectares combined in the national park — is still top of mind, it’s not likely SOPFEU’s firefighters will be part of the crew.
Local crews ‘ready to go’
As they prepared to board their flight on Sunday, some firefighters shared they felt some trepidation about the unknowns.
“The working side is different [in a different province],” SOPFEU equipment controller Eric Roy explained before accompanying the firefighters to airport security.
“There’s less water, there’s different tools.”
But the overall feeling was positive, Roy said.
“They’re feeling good. Ready to go, ready to help.”