South African firefighters arrive in Edmonton

More help is arriving in Alberta from abroad, with more than 1.4 million hectares burned by wildfires in the province.

On Thursday, 200 firefighters arrived in Edmonton from South African. The members sang and danced their way through the airport.

This is the second group of firefighters from South Africa to arrive in Alberta. The first wave landed last week, and was deployed to fight the Yellowhead County fire near Edson.

The latest group will be going to the High Prairie and Fox Creek areas.

“Our morale is very good, we are very high in morale because we need to fight the fire and make sure that everything is safe, we need to save lives, and save the environment,” said firefighter Gabaikangwe Lydiasereo. “One of our Working On Fire values is to make a difference, so we are here to make a difference within Canada.”

The latest group to arrive consists entirely of trained firefighters, ready to go to work on Alberta’s fire lines. However, Alberta Wildfire’s Travis Fairweather says, along with hard work and knowledge, the South Africans bring with them a much-needed boost.

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“And they’re not just doing that here at the airport, they’re doing that at the fire camp, they’re doing that on the fire line. And that’s contagious, you know, everyone sees that, and it lifts everyone’s spirits,” Fairweather said, noting the singing and dancing many of these firefighters have become known for.

The area burned so far this year amounts to 10 times the five-year average for the entire fire season in Alberta. In addition to those from South Africa, fire crews have already been brought in from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., and Chile.

Rain across the province has helped to dampen some of the out-of-control fires crews have been dealing with for weeks. However, northern Alberta hasn’t seen nearly enough precipitation, and the fire season is long.

“Even with the rain, these fires are going to be burning for several months. Even though the fires are quiet, that’s when the hard work starts, that’s when the firefighters have to get out there with axes and shovels and hand tools, and really start digging deep and getting to that fire that has burned deep into the ground,” Fairweather said.