British Columbia to receive federal assistance with ongoing wildfire situation

Ottawa: Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, have approved a formal Request for Federal Assistance from the Province of British Columbia to support their efforts to combat wildfires and augment federal resources already on the ground.

British Columbia is currently experiencing a wildfire season well above the seasonal average and has deployed all available provincial and local resources to respond to fires across the province, particularly in the southern and central parts of the province.

In response to this request for assistance, the Canadian Armed Forces will be sending up to an additional 350 personnel to support extinguishing and monitoring of hot spots on contained fires.

Since early July, Canadian Armed Forces have been providing airlift support to transport personnel, supplies, and equipment into and out of areas affected by wildfires throughout the province, and to support evacuations in emergencies when required.

The Government Operations Centre is working to coordinate the federal response to the wildfire situation in British Columbia and across the country. Officials are working closely with federal and provincial partners to coordinate this assistance.