Ontario firefighters sent to help battle out-of-control Alberta forest blazes

As Alberta battles more than 50 out-of-control wildfires, Ontario has shipped almost 200 firefighters and two helicopters out west to help the besieged province.

As of Thursday, the Ontario government said it had sent 176 wildland firefighters, along with hoses and two helicopters, to help Alberta with a growing number of difficult forest fires.

Across Alberta serious forest fires have forced the province to scramble planes, helicopters and firefighters to try and tame fast-moving fires. Evacuations have been ordered in some places, including a town northwest of Calgary and the mountain town of Jasper.

A spokesperson for the Ontario government said the province was working to manage its own wildfires while sharing spare resources with other jurisdictions.

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“Ontario is a globally recognized leader in wildland fire management, with highly trained and skilled staff,” they said.

“We continue to allocate all necessary resources to not only protect Ontario’s communities and natural resources, but also support other provinces in their wildland firefighting efforts.”

Alberta Wildfire told Global News it had received help from Ontario, eastern Canada and internationally.

A spokesperson said Ontario crews had been deployed to Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche Forest Areas, cautioning the fluid situation meant crews are often redeployed to new areas.

“Alberta currently has over 170 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, over 50 of them burning out of control,” they said.

“Resource sharing agreements are in place to allow us to move trained, skilled firefighters where they are needed the most across the country. We are grateful for the support from our partners across Canada and internationally.”

The crews are not the first Ontario has sent west. In May 2023, for example, when wildfires again raged in Alberta, 40 Ontario-based firefighters were sent to help.

In other seasons — including June last year when heavy wildfire smoke hung over Toronto — Ontario has also found itself asking for national and international help with its own fires.

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