SOPFEU to send 50 forest firefighters to help Alberta

Fifty forest firefighters from Quebec will be lending a hand to their colleagues in Alberta, starting on Friday, as that province continues to deal with numerous active fires.

The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) said the 50 forest firefighters, who will be accompanied by a SOPFEU representative, will fly out of the Quebec City and Val-d’Or airports on Friday.

Their mission in Alberta will last two weeks.

Two SOPFEU radio operators have already been in Alberta since Aug. 16, while an operations section manager visited the province on Aug. 21.

According to Alberta Wildfire, 74 forest fires are active in the province as of Thursday morning. Of these, 44 are said to be “controlled,” 29 are “contained,” while one is still “uncontrollable.”

RELATED: Insured losses from Jasper wildfire surpass $880 million: IBC

SOPFEU points out that it is able to lend resources to Western Canada because the fire situation in Quebec allows it to do so “without affecting its ability to intervene on Quebec territory.”

In addition, 80 Quebec forest firefighters who have been on assignment in British Columbia since Aug. 13 will return home late Thursday.

In Quebec, there are no longer any active forest fires in the intensive protection zone. Forest firefighters have battled 283 since the start of the season.

There are still 18 active fires in the northern zone.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews