Bay of Plenty firefighters Geoff Brown (left), Zac Searle, William Sinclair, Phil Muldoon and Roger Nelson are fighting wildfires in Cross Lake in Canada. Photo / Fire and Emergency NZ
Bay of Plenty firefighters Geoff Brown (left), Zac Searle, William Sinclair, Phil Muldoon and Roger Nelson are fighting wildfires in Cross Lake in Canada. Photo / Fire and Emergency NZ
Eleven Bay of Plenty firefighters are among a Kiwi contingent in Canada helping fight raging wildfires that have burned through millions of hectares.
Most of the Bay group are part of a 43-strong taskforce that flew to Manitoba on July 13 to stay five weeks, with two others arriving afew days earlier as part of a seven-person fire specialist group.
The Kiwi personnel are based in Cross Lake, about an eight-hour drive north of Manitoba’s capital, Winnipeg.
They include eight five-person teams of “arduous firefighters” – named for the challenging environments they tackle – as well as team leaders and other agency representatives.
The Bay of Plenty Fire and Emergency New Zealand volunteer firefighters come from across the district and include national trainer Emma Gibb and Taupō District Council rural fire manager Roger Nelson.
There are also two local forestry firefighters, one each from Timberlands Limited and the Forest Protection Service, and the two specialist fire team members.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand deputy national commander Brendan Nally. Photo / Supplied
Fire and Emergency NZ deputy national commander Brendan Nally said since arriving, the taskforce and specialist team were helping manage several fires alongside a small number of Manitoba Wildfire Service personnel.
Manitoba is experiencing one of its worst fire seasons in years, with more than 1.2 million hectares burned so far.
He said New Zealand now had 50 personnel aiding the wildfire response in Lake Cross, helping stop fires from spreading in the “very remote” and physically challenging terrain.
Much of the Kiwi crews’ work involved digging up hotspots and creating firebreaks, which was “tough, physical, arduous work” in the middle of the northern hemisphere summer.
The 43-strong New Zealand taskforce of mainly volunteer firefighters who are helping control wildfires in Canada's Manitoba province. Photo / Fire and Emergency NZ
According to a Canadian National Wildland Fire Service report, the fires were the result of reduced snowpack levels, “warmer-than-average” temperatures, low soil moisture and elevated drought conditions.
Nally said the description “arduous firefighters” was apt.
“Our Kiwi teams are working 14-day rotations, 12-hour shifts, with three days’ break to rest and recuperate, before doing it all again.
“They’re miles from anywhere, camping and sleeping in tents, and having pre-prepared basic rations and plenty of hot meals helicoptered to them.”
Nally said they were mainly using hand tools.
“Each Kiwi firefighter’s backpack contains their firefighting tools, including a shovel, a spade, a fire retardant, and a heavy ‘grubber’ type tool to dig, akin to using a hoe in people’s gardens.”
Nally said they also had a personal GPS locator in case they became separated from their crew.
One of the wildfires in Manitoba province in Canada. Photo / Fire and Emergency NZ
He said the scale of wildfires in Canada and Alaska in the US, and the land destroyed, was “enormous”.
“It’s hard for people in New Zealand to get their heads around the scale of these fires and how tough and dangerous the conditions are.”
Nally said the latest Canadian wildland service report revealed that 6.4 million hectares across five provinces had been lost.
“That’s close to half the North Island, and multiple fires are still burning across Canada and in Alaska.”
Alaska’s wildfires have destroyed more than 1.2 million hectares this year.
Nally said the taskforce and specialist team’s experiences in Canada would provide “invaluable” skills and knowledge that could be used to respond to wildfire emergencies in New Zealand.
“To be honest, there were so many people keen to be part of this taskforce, we had to beat them off with a stick.”
He said it was likely that more Fire and Emergency personnel would be sent to Canada once the taskforce and specialist team’s deployments ended.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
