Update On Canada's Response To The Wildfires In California

The federal government has provided an update on Canada’s role in assisting in battling wildfires in southern California.

This past Saturday, the province of British Columbia sent a team of senior technical staff to fill specialized incident command system functions.

The feds say that is part of a long-standing bilateral relationship with CAL Fire and based on their request for support.

B.C. is also sending a crew of Type 1 firefighters, through a U.S. National Interagency Coordination Center and Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre request for support.

In addition to the two CL-415 water bombers sent in August to Los Angeles, the province of Québec is deploying two other CL-415 water bombers to support firefighting efforts.

Québec also has 60 Type 1 wildland firefighters available and on standby for deployment.

On Monday, the province of Alberta sent a crew of 40 wildland firefighters and two support staff.

Additional firefighters and other personnel will be ready to go if requested.

Alberta is also preparing water bombers and contracted night vision helicopters to be ready if needed.

The feds say they continue to coordinate efforts with Provinces and Territories to line up all available resources to help the people of California.

Ontario was to send out two CL-415 water bombers to Abbotsford, BC, getting them closer to California, if requested. Crews from Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and PEI are also on standby, as are the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, and Parks Canada.