Nova Scotia Sending Fire Crew to Alberta
Rick Andrews (standing) and Terry White are part of the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables incident management team heading to Alberta to help with wildfires. (Communications Nova Scotia / File)
Nova Scotia is sending an incident management team to help with large, out-of-control wildfires in northern Alberta.
“Once again, our crew are lending a hand to our neighbours in need, and for that, I thank them,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “This is a good reminder to us about how quickly wildfires can get out of control. I urge Nova Scotians to remain diligent and continue to follow the daily burn restrictions.”
Eight staff from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables and two from New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources and Energy will form a team that will manage and co-ordinate the firefighting resources assigned to large wildfires. The team will leave Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Wednesday, July 24, at 7 a.m.
The Department is also sending hoses and other equipment to Alberta this week as part of a combined Atlantic effort between Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Current fire conditions in Nova Scotia allow the Province’s wildfire resources to be shared. The Department will continue to monitor conditions and make sure sufficient resources are maintained in the province. Crews could return early if they are needed at home.
Quick Facts:
- this will be the second team from the Department helping with the wildfire effort in western Canada this summer – 20 firefighters and an agency representative went to Prince George, British Columbia, on July 12
- Nova Scotia is a member of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help if wildfires become too large to handle
- the affected province or territory covers the costs of the jurisdictions that are sending help
- requests for assistance from other jurisdictions are co-ordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
Additional Resources:
Daily burn restrictions: https://novascotia.ca/burnsafe/
National fire situation report: https://ciffc.net/
Natural Resources and Renewables on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/NS_DNRR