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The first group of firefighters that went to BC to help fight forest fires in that province’s interior are back home.
Thirty-six firefighters landed back in Saskatoon this morning, with more scheduled to come back home from BC and Montana later this week.
Steve Roberts, with the Wildfire Management Branch, says the Saskatchewan crews integrated well with firefighters in BC, and none of the crew members sustained any injuries during their tour of duty.
One of the fire fighters was Kevin Powder from La Ronge. This is the second time he has gone to British Columbia to help fight fires. He said one of the toughest challenges is the terrain.
“There’s a different lay of the land, the ground is a lot harder and it’s drier,” he said. “They use more heavy equipment to fight fires than here in Saskatchewan.”
There are still 48 firefighters and three planes that have been lent out to British Columbia and to Montana, which is experiencing the highest fire load in the United States.
Roberts says some of those crews may be coming back this weekend, but if things escalate in British Columbia again, he said there will be another crew sent to help.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s fire hazard in the north is moderate with 25 small fires burning, which are contained.