Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says announced more Canadian Forces personnel will be coming to B.C. to help with wildfire response.
Another 225 soldiers will be deployed to the wildfire affected areas around Williams Lake, adding to the existing 150 soldiers that have been on the ground in the province for about a week.
The troops will relieve RCMP officers with ground evacuation of persons in distress, delivery of essential aid such as food and supplies by land and by air, and to help the RCMP maintain road checkpoints throughout the areas affected by the fires.
The province’s request for military support does not include deployments in an armed or law-enforcement capacity.
The Royal Canadian Air Force are also providing aircraft support to the firefighting efforts, including CC-130J Hercules, one CC-177 Globemaster, three CH-146 Griffon helicopters, and two CH-147F Chinook helicopters
There are 150 fires burning across the province – 8 of those are new fires, some believed to be human-caused.
The deployment is in response to a request for more military support from Mike Farnworth, the newly appointed Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“This is an unprecedented emergency, and it’s a welcome relief to get more boots on the ground from the Canadian Forces to support the enormous amount of provincial resources going into managing this event with the RCMP, wildfire fighters, EMBC and literally thousands of volunteers working as hard as they possibly can,” said Farnworth in a statement.
“I want to thank our Canadian Government and Canadian Forces for yet again stepping up and offering their support to help during our time of need.”
Some areas could get some much needed rain but there’s also a risk of lightning.
@CityWL current weather conditions! #happymayor #williamslake pic.twitter.com/dqICVPdi2u
— City of Williams Lake (@CityWL) July 20, 2017
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