Mexico’s emergency services were once again called by another country. This time, firefighters from Mexico will help fight forest fires in Canada.
On Wednesday, 108 Mexican firefighters are expected to arrive in Canada to help with the extinction of more than 150 forest fires that have been active in the west of the country for a month and forced thousands to evacuate.
It is the second consecutive year that Mexican firefighters are moving to Canada to fight forest fires.
Last year, dozens of firefighters from Mexico participated in the task of extinguishing several major fires in the province of Alberta, also in the west of the country.
Firefighters are assigned to the National Forestry Commission of Mexico (Conafor) .
In addition to firefighters from Mexico, Canadian authorities reported that about 30 firefighters from the United States have also arrived in British Columbia to participate in the tasks of extinction.
Authorities in British Columbia pointed out in a press release that it is the first time that Mexican firefighters have operated in the province.
“Firefighters from Mexico and the United States are trained to the standards of the Canadian Forest Fire Center and will be very valuable in assisting the current forest fires in British Columbia,” the provincial government said.
British Columbia’s Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources, Doug Donaldson added, “Given the seriousness of the forest fires this year, we really appreciate the ability to bring staff from abroad. We thank the teams that are helping.”
More than 150 forest fires are active in the interior of the province of British Columbia, some of them for more than a month.
The fires have consumed more than 325,000 hectares of forest and forced the evacuation of about 6,000 people.
Thousands of people are fighting the flames throughout the province, including some 750 from other jurisdictions, such as the 108 Mexican firefighters.
The provincial authorities said that the fires that have occurred since last April 1 have cost British Columbia 172.5 million Canadian dollars (about 138 million US dollars).
