Firefighters, aircraft heading back to B.C. after helping battle blazes on Prairies

Photo: BC Wildfire Service

BCWS crews shown at a training camp earlier this year.

More than 100 wildland firefighters from B.C. are expected to return in the next week from blazes in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario — just in time for the “core of wildfire season" at home.

Ravi Parmar, B.C.’s forests minister, said the province has sent crews, equipment and aircraft east to help out.

“We expect the majority of our people and resources will be back in B.C. in the next week,” he said.

Neal McLoughlin, the superintendent of predictive services for BCWS, said it’s important BCWS have its resources in place heading into the heat of summer.

“We’re headed into the core of our wildfire season,” he said. “So we’ll be looking to ensure that we’ve got our resources deployed where we need them — our wildland firefighters on the ground, supporting our communities."

An estimated 21,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in Manitoba, in addition to 10,000 to 15,000 evacuees in Saskatchewan and thousands more in Ontario and Alberta.

In fire-ravaged Manitoba, where 10 blazes are burning out of control, officials on Monday asked tourists to reconsider any trips planned to the province.

B.C. officials expect a very challenging wildfire season in the province's northeast, and said drought and weather conditions will determine how the summer plays out elsewhere.