B.C to send wildfire crews to Alberta, Ontario

KAMLOOPS – B.C. is sending firefighters to help wildfire crews in Alberta and Ontario.

The B.C. Wildfire Service announced this afternoon, May 24, five unit crews consisting of 98 firefighters, two agency representatives and nine support personnel will arrive in Hinton, Alta., on Wednesday, May 25, to be deployed to the Horse River wildfire near Fort McMurray.

A second, five-unit crew of 100 firefighters, two agency reps and a 10-person incident management team will arrive in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Thursday, May 26, to support wildfire crews fighting increased wildfire activity in northern Ontario.

B.C. Wildfire reaffirms there are sufficient fire crews remaining in the province to deal with ongoing and new fire activity within British Columbia. Fire activity in the province has diminished and is anticipated to decrease in the near future, freeing up some of the province’s manpower for assistance elsewhere.


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Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

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