Nova Scotia is sending help to fight large, out-of-control wildfires near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Twenty Department of Natural Resources and Renewables firefighters and one agency representative will leave from Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Thursday, May 25.

“Our departmental firefighters did tremendous work over the past few weeks fighting wildfires in Nova Scotia,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “Our conditions and our resources are at a manageable level, so we’re now able to answer the call to help our colleagues in the Northwest Territories.”

Current fire conditions in Nova Scotia allow the province’s wildfire resources to be shared. The Department will continue monitoring conditions and make sure sufficient resources are maintained in the province. Crews could be pulled back from the Northwest Territories if they are needed at home.

Quick Facts:
— Nova Scotia is a member of the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement, which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help if wildfires become too large to handle
— the affected province covers the costs of the jurisdictions that are sending help
— requests for assistance from other jurisdictions are co-ordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

Additional Resources:
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre’s national situation report: https://ciffc.net/en/ciffc/ext/public/sitrep/

Natural Resources and Renewables on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NS_DNRR

Source: Release