Fisheries and Land Resources
August 1, 2017

Newfoundland and Labrador Provides Additional Resources to Assist with British Columbia Wildfire Efforts

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has provided additional resources to assist with the ongoing national effort to suppress wildfires in British Columbia.

Two CL-415 air tankers have been dispatched to Quebec for a four day period, where they will backfill for air tankers being sent from that province to British Columbia. In addition, five incident management team personnel have been sent to assist with efforts in Kamloops and Prince George for 14 days. Deployment periods may change based on forest fire fighting resource requirements.

The request for assistance was administered through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre’s (CIFFC) Mutual Aid Resource Sharing (MARS) agreement. MARS is a formal agreement between provinces that provides for the efficient sharing of forest firefighting resources throughout the country.

The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources advises adequate fire suppression resources remain in place throughout Newfoundland and Labrador to manage fires at this time. This includes a fleet of strategically placed water bombers, several helicopters and an additional 80 fire suppression staff.

Earlier this month, Newfoundland and Labrador dispatched six provincial forest fire fighting personnel to assist with the BC wildfires at the request of the CIFFC.

Quote
"Our thoughts remain with the residents of British Columbia and those who are fighting the fires on their behalf. We are maintaining regular contact with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and will continue to offer our resources to assist with national fire suppression efforts in British Columbia wherever possible.”
Honourable Gerry Byrne
Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources

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Learn More
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre -
www.ciffc.ca/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 external link

Province Providing Forest Fire Fighting Assistance to British Columbia - //www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2017/ffa/0714n01.aspx

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Media contact
Craig Renouf
Fisheries and Land Resources
709-637-2284, 632-8167
craigrenouf@gov.nl.ca

2017 08 01                              10:30 a.m.