Photo Courtesy of Wildland Fire Management/Government of Yukon.
Whitehorse, YT – Yukon is sending wildfire crews and equipment to help fight fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Thousands in the Prairie provinces have been evacuated due to wildfires and Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency.
Five initial attack crews and one agency representative left for Alberta on May 30, while a division supervisor and trainee left for Saskatchewan yesterday. The territory is also deploying its heavy air tanker, an L-188 Electra, with its flight crew.
Deployments can last up to 19 days but crews can be recalled within 24 hours if needed at home.
A Yukon Government statement says that they’re able to provide support because fire activity in the territory is currently low.
Yukon is part of the Northwest Compact, an agreement to share firefighting resources with neighbouring Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions.
