Canadian wildfires: Fourth firefighter killed while battling a wildfire this year

Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn along a ridge top north of Fort St. John in British Columbia, Canada. Photo / AP

A firefighter has been killed while fighting a massive wildfire in northeastern British Columbia, marking the second such fatality in the Canadian province this month and the fourth in Canada during this year’s record fire season.

A release on Saturday from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the 25-year-old man from Ontario was working on Friday just before 11 am in a remote area when his heavy-duty ATV rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road.

Police say the victim, who has not been identified publicly, was transported by helicopter to Fort St. John but died en route.

The RCMP say a workplace fatality investigation is under way.

Provincial officials have confirmed the man was a contracted firefighter working for the wildfire service through a private BC company and died while fighting the almost 6,000-square kilometre Donnie Creek blaze.

BC Premier David Eby issued a statement on Saturday saying the fatality coming so soon after Gale’s death “has shaken people throughout” the province and devastated the firefighting community.

“This wildfire season has been profoundly awful,” Eby said.

Statistics from the provincial wildfire service show there are currently 363 active wildfires in British Columbia, with 11 new fires in the last 24 hours and 191 blazes classified as being out of control.

In total, there have been 1,517 wildfires in British Columbia this year, burning a record-breaking 15,397 square kilometers of trees, bush and grassland.