The Air Canada Boeing 777-200LR landed at Edmonton International Airport after a 22-hour flight from Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight, arranged by Air Canada, carried approximately 300 South African firefighters and management personnel.
What is known as the Fort McMurray fire began raging out of control at the beginning of May. It has since moved into Saskatchewan and it is estimated the fire now covers almost 580,000 hectares (approximately 1.43 million acres). Currently about 2,300 firefighters are battling the fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Several people showed up at the Edmonton airport to welcome and thank the South Africans. And as soon as the firefighters got off the plane, they broke into song. Khomt Alucie, one of the firefighters, told CBC they sing as a way of bonding with each other. She said, “It gives us moral courage, it gives us teamwork.” The firefighters came from different parts of South Africa so there would not be a shortage of personnel in any one area and many did not know each other prior to the flight.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) sent out a request for help to several groups including Working on Fire in South Africa. Although South African firefighters have been to Alberta to fight fires in the past, this is Working on Fire’s largest deployment.
Working on Fire was created by the South African government about 10 years ago to train young people to help them get out of poverty. Currently about 5,000 firefighters are employed throughout the country.
South Africa’s News24 reports 400 firefighters attended a boot camp prior to leaving to prepare and ensure they could meet international standards.
The firefighters have today off and will be briefed on Tuesday. On Wednesday they will fly to Fort McMurray to begin work. After 14 days their work will be assessed and a decision will be made whether to return to South Africa or remain working in Canada.
