Yukon Wildland Fire Management is sending additional firefighting personnel down to British Columbia to assist the province in getting its wildfires under control.
Sixteen initial attack firefighters as well as an airtanker group were deployed to Prince George, B.C., over the weekend.
“We are pleased to provide this additional support to B.C. in their time of need,” Minister of Community Services John Streicker said in a press release. “Our fire situation has quieted down now and as a result we have the resources available to provide further assistance. They helped us earlier this season when we needed it; now it’s our turn to help them.”
The group joins the 34 firefighters and four incident management staff who the WFM deployed to British Columbia last week. WFM has also sent down 40 pumps to assist in the firefighting effort, and earlier this month, the Yukon Government donated $25,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to aid with the relief efforts for residents displaced by the wildfires.
According to the BC Wildfire Service website, there were 133 active wildfires in the province as of midnight on Monday.
The current fire danger rating throughout the Yukon is low, with no new fires reported over the last week.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com