Red Deer County firefighters have joined the battle to contain wildfires in Brazeau and Yellowhead Counties.
The county sent firefighters to the Buck Creek Wildfire in Brazeau County near Drayton Valley and to Yellowhead County in the Wildwood area after Alberta Emergency Management Agency put out the call for assistance.
Red Deer County personnel are members of the Central Region All-Hazards Incident Management Team, which is described as a multi-disciplinary team from central Alberta municipalities and agencies who have incident management training for large-scale emergencies. An incident management team from the central and southern regions is supporting Drayton Valley and Brazeau County staff.
A dozen Red Deer County firefighters with two bush trucks, a tactical water tender and an engine have been sent to help out.
States of local emergency remain in effect in nearly 20 Alberta communities, including Drayton Valley, Brazeau County and Yellowhead County.
More than 700 firefighters are battling wildfires in Alberta. Help has come from B.C., Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick Yukon, Oregon, Alaska. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, there were 82 fires burning, including 24 out of control. Nineteen are being held and 39 are under control.
“Red Deer County is proud to provide the administration, equipment and leadership to this team, we will continue to support the evolving wildfire situation with our available resources as long as required,” said assistant county manager Dave Dittrick.
In a statement, Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood and council expressed their appreciation to those trying to contain the province’s wildfires.
“Our hearts pour out for everyone who has had to leave their home and businesses; we are extremely thankful to have such high-calibre staff that are leaders in the emergency management field and are readily available to respond quickly in these unprecedented times.”
The county says the deployments do not affect Red Deer County’s fire capacity and key staff members remain to
ensure emergency management and day-to-day needs are met, and service levels are maintained.
A fire ban is still in effect in Red Deer County. For wildfire updates go to www.alberta.ca/emergency.aspx
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