DNRR firefighter Walter Scott of Churchover, Shelburne County, sprays the ground while the water bomber flies by to dump a load of water on the fire. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
More than 100 wildfires are raging in Yukon right now and Nova Scotia is lending a hand by sending a crew of firefighters to help combat the blaze.
20 firefighters from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables are leaving on a flight from Halifax today, along with one agency representative. It’s the second crew that Nova Scotia has sent to Yukon in the last two months. Five of the firefighters from the latest crew just returned from Yukon on August 1, after serving on the July crew.
Nova Scotia is part of the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement, which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help if wildfires become too large to handle. Back in May, we sent another team of 20 firefighters to the Northwest Territories. They were quickly called back when Nova Scotia had to deal with our own devastating wildfires. DNRR is constantly monitoring wildfire conditions in the province to make sure we always have the resources we need to fight a wildfire should one pop up and crews can be called back at any time.
“We’re extremely fortunate that our wildfire season has calmed down since the devastating fires in May and June,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables in a press release. “We understand how much people in Yukon need our help, so we’re happy to send another crew. I’m proud of our firefighters for answering the call – especially those who already served on the July crew.”
As of today, wildfires in Yukon have burned more than 130,000 hectares of land this season. For reference, the massive wildfire that ravaged Shelburne County in June grew to just over 26,000 hectares and was the largest fire Nova Scotia had ever experienced.
