Red Cross volunteers from Atlantic Canada deploy to Sask. wildfires

Canadian Red Cross volunteers from the Atlantic provinces are spending their Canada Day getting ready to ship out to help evacuees from the forest fires in Saskatchewan.

Spokesman Dan Bedell says the five volunteers are from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

They accepted the deployment after the Red Cross received a call on Tuesday, asking for help, said Bedell.

More volunteers may join the effort later, he said.

All five of the volunteers have been involved in other disasters, such as the Alberta floods or previous forest fire evacuations, and in managing shelter operations, said Bedell.

"These are some of our most experienced volunteers at running emergency shelter operations, which is what they were looking for," he said.

Bedell expects the Red Cross will be involved for a number of weeks.

"The planning at this point is around potential for evacuations of people for up to a couple of weeks. That's why they're already looking at going with volunteers from other parts of the country."

The volunteers are from, Dartmouth and Truro, N.S.; Lower Kingsclear and Fredericton, N.B.; and Corner Brook, N.L. and Labrador.

In Saskatchewan, 4,000 people are currently in shelters as crews battle more than 100 fires in the northern part of the province.

Over 30 Department of Natural Resources firefighters from New Brunswick left last night to help fight the wildfires.