A team of 15 Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service personnel has answered an international call for assistance to respond to the Canadian wildfires.
There are currently 800 active fires affecting 2.7 million hectares of the Canadian landscape – equivalent to just over one third of the area of Tasmania.
PWS State Fire Manager Katy Edwards said the team of firefighters and incident management experts had been deployed to the Alberta and British Columbia wildfire operations.
“We are proud to be part of this deployment and ready to assist our friends in Canada, who have been battling extreme fire conditions for weeks,” Ms Edwards said.
“This deployment is also an opportunity for our staff to gain experience on the ground in another country, share their expertise, and to learn from others in the international firefighting community.”
Tasmania is part of the National Resource Sharing Centre, which requested support from all states and territories to bolster the firefighting response in Canada.
Australia has an ongoing mutual fire management arrangement with Canada which allows for the exchange of personnel, resources, and technology when required.
Australian fire services have supported Canada and the United States numerous times since 2000, most recently last year, and this support has been reciprocated with Australia over several summers.
The PWS firefighters deployed are: Rhys Wilson, Ken Brooks, Mark O’Brien, Larissa Giddings, Keegan Pope, Jerard Flakemore, and Stuart Primrose who have departed from the Hobart Airport and Jason Moore, Robin Meyers, Aidan Munro, Ben Hill and Phil Gillingham.
Rhys Wilson, Ken Brooks farewelled at Launceston airport by Katy Edwards
Stuart Primrose, Keegan Pope, Larissa Giddings, Jerad Flakemore and Mark O'Brien departing Hobart airport
Phil Gillingham, Robin Myers, Jason Moore, Ben Hill and Aidan Munro departing from Launceston airport
The PWS incident management team deployed are: Nic Deka (incident controller), Catherine Charlesworth (logistics officer) and John Duggan (deputy incident controller).
Nic Deka and Catherine Charlesworth
John Duggan farewelled by Richard Dakin