Hundreds of Edmonton soldiers to assist in B.C. wildfires

Soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry depart to British Columbia to support firefighting efforts in the province's emergency wildfire situation, July 23, 2021.

EDMONTON — Up to 350 Canadian Armed Forces personnel from Edmonton will begin deploying to British Columbia this week to support firefighting efforts in Vernon.

This comes after the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) received a request for federal assistance from the province of British Columbia on July 19.

There are currently more than 270 wildfires burning across B.C., resulting in a state of emergency for the entire province.

Edmonton’s CAF personnel will provide direct assistance to B.C. Wildfire Services operations by extinguishing or removing hazardous material along the fire’s edge.

The Edmonton support team has been requested to assist B.C. Wildfire Services until the end of August.