Ottawa, Ontario
Wildfires in British Columbia have continued at an extreme level during the last week, with evacuations, loss of personal property, and damage to critical infrastructure happening in communities across the province.
On August 25, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Government of British Columbia to provide additional fire-fighting resources - increasing the level of support that is already being provided to the province.
In response to this request for assistance, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, authorized the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to provide personnel to assist and enable planning and coordination support, and type III fire-fighting operations, which typically include turning over and dousing hotspots and mopping-up affected areas.
CAF resources will be provided for an initial period of three weeks starting on August 28, with an extension possible following a joint evaluation of the situation to determine if support is still required.
This assistance is in addition to the federal support already being provided to the province through a Request for Federal Assistance, which was approved on August 19.
The Government of Canada's Government Operations Centre is working closely with federal and provincial partners to coordinate the federal response to the situation in British Columbia.
