Wildfires burning in Canada have consumed more than 945,000ha. Photo / AP
Wildfires burning in Canada have consumed more than 945,000ha. Photo / AP
OPINION
We’ve always been a nation of helpers.
When someone is struggling, especially a neighbour or a friend, our first instinct as Kiwis, or indeed humans for that matter, is to lend a hand.
This extends back to our Anzac spirit during World War I — we and the Aussieswere brothers in arms and fought for the same reasons.
This has been highlighted by our firefighters who were deployed to fight the horrific Australian bushfires in the 2019-20 season — Lake Ōkāreka firefighter Phil Muldoon went over and was recently bestowed with a “rare and special honour” for his efforts — the Australia National Emergency Medal.
Phil Muldoon (left), John Sutton, Ken Hussey, Jamie Rhodes, Roger Nelson and Mike Bridge were deployed to assist Canadian fire services. Photo / Supplied
This year, Muldoon, along with local firefighters Jamie Rhodes, taskforce leader, Eastern Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade; John Sutton, incident commander, Bay of Plenty District Office; Mike Bridge, firefighter, Eastern Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade; Roger Nelson, firefighter, Lake Taupō Volunteer Fire Brigade and Rotorua Office and Ken Hussey, firefighter, Lake Taupō Volunteer Fire Brigade, are answering the call of our Commonwealth family and are being deployed to Canada.
Canadian province Alberta is particularly suffering a brutal series of fires, and it’s not even the height of their summer yet.
The Guardian reported 512 wildfires have consumed more than 945,000ha — surpassing the previous record of 615,000ha for the same period in 2019.
Hopefully, lower temperatures and heavy rain are now bringing relief to the country.
Muldoon is no stranger to fighting fires in other countries. He’s been to the US and Australia many times — as well as Canada.
However, Canada is a different beast. He told us the different types of vegetation and geography made a difference in how the fires spread.
“The volatility is horrendous and on such a large scale.”
He’s right.
I was lucky enough to visit Canada last year. I managed to see a bit of British Columbia and Alberta. The country is absolutely stunning. I described it to people as just like New Zealand but on steroids.
It’s sad to think some of those amazing places I visited could be scorched earth.
My thoughts are with Muldoon and the rest of our local lads, as well as with the Canadian people.
