Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia fire crews to battle British Columbia wildfires

Fire crews from Nova Scotia are heading to British Columbia to help knock down the growing number of wildfires scorching that province.

Twelve significant wildfires are currently burning in B.C.

A photo of the Mount McAllister wildfire burning in the Klin-Se-Za protected area, in the northeastern region of B.C. on July 15. (Wildfire Management Branch)

Fire crews from Nova Scotia are heading to British Columbia to help knock down the growing number of wildfires scorching that province.

Twelve significant wildfires are currently burning in B.C. and they have prompted new evacuation orders and alerts.

British Columbia’s Wildfire Management Branch put out the plea for help earlier this week, asking for more than 70 out-of-province personnel to help their firefighters.

On Thursday, 55 additional personnel will arrive from Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec. They will join 14 firefighters from Alberta who arrived Monday and 21 from Ontario who landed Sunday.

All of these out-of-province personnel will provide command and co-ordination support to fire crews on the ground.

The requests for assistance were made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates the sharing of firefighting resources. Costs associated will be covered by British Columbia.

Hot and dry weather conditions have elevated the fire danger rating throughout the province and most of B.C. is currently experiencing a "high" to "extreme" fire danger rating.