Two Manitobans are part of a Canadian team headed to Australia to help fight unprecedented wildfires in that country.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), based in Winnipeg got the call for help on Friday, November 29, 2019.
21 highly qualified personnel were selected to be part of the mission for their unique skill sets. The team has members from Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Parks Canada.
(New South Wales Rural Fire Service)
“We are pleased to help the people of Australia as they face these devastating fires, especially since Manitoba has been on the receiving end of help from friends and neighbours when wildfires and other natural disasters hit our province,” Premier Brian Pallister said. “There’s nothing more Manitoban than offering a helping hand when someone else is in need.”
The Canadian team will be providing help in a number of incident management roles including planning, aviation and operations. The members from Manitoba will serve as an operations section chief and planning section chief.
When the team gets to Australia in the next few days they will be assigned to fire operations in New South Wales. It is expected they will remain there until mid-January.
© News4.ca 2020
