Teams from P.E.I., N.S. heading to Alberta this weekend to help fight wildfire

Teams of firefighters from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will travel to Alberta this weekend to help with the wildfire situation in the province.

According to a news release from Nova Scotia, 29 firefighters from Nova Scotia and five firefighters from P.E.I. will leave from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Sunday to help fight the wildfires in Jasper. Nova Scotia sent an incident management team and equipment to Alberta on July 24.

Parks Canada’s website shows the wildfire as being “out of control” as of Thursday night.

“Our friends in Alberta are fighting fast-moving, out-of-control wildfires, and they need our help,” said Tory Rushton, minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, in the release. “I thank all Nova Scotians for following the daily burn restrictions, which is helping keep our wildfire season manageable here at home and allows us to send another crew out west. We’re heading into a hot long weekend, so I urge Nova Scotians to remain vigilant about fire safety.”

Another team returned to P.E.I. last week after assisting with a fire near High Level in northern Alberta.

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A separate release says P.E.I. is currently in a “good position” to respond to fires inside or outside the province.

“When our local forest firefighters get deployed elsewhere, they are not only helping our neighbors, but gaining skills that could be needed when we see forest fires here at home,” said P.E.I. Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myers, in the release.

“On behalf of Islanders, I thank everyone working in these difficult conditions and remind everyone to keep forest fire prevention in mind this summer.”

Islanders are being reminded to check burning restrictions daily by calling 1-800-237-5053 or by visiting the provincial fire information page. 

For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.