British Columbia bids Mexican wildland firefighters farewell

Sep 9, 2021 | 11:17 AM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. Wildfire service is extending its heartfelt thank-you to 98 Mexican wildland firefighters and three support personnel as they get ready to head home Saturday (Sept. 11).

The Mexicans landed in British Columbia on Jul. 24, and spent the summer helping with an unruly wildfire season — their last day on the fire line is Sept. 9.

“It was hugely important and helped us manage the many wildfires on the landscape that we have seen this year,” said Taylor Colman, Fire Information Officer at the BC Wildfire Service.

“Along with British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and the Prairies were all having challenging wildfire seasons, so we were all looking for resource support throughout the summer. So being able to get that out of country support was huge.”

Colman believes they will depart from the airport in Abbotsford. She says this summer, they would work 14 days straight, with only three day intervals in between.

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The Mexicans arrived July 24 and worked long days battling wildfires throughout the Okanagan. Their work this wildfire season has been invaluable to this organization and all British Columbians affected by wildfires.

This weekend, they will begin their travels home. We wish them a safe departure and a well deserved rest upon their return!

The last time Mexican wildland firefighters came to British Columbia to offer their support was during the 2017 wildfire season.

Although the Mexican team was based in the Okanagan, Kamloops housed Australian support staff, they departed on Aug. 29.

The Australians had an incident management team, overseeing the planning and logistics and helped with internal operations, such as feeding the team and getting camps set up.

The BC Wildfire Service says all international firefighters and support staff were invaluable in helping with an intense wildfire season.

by Amandalina Letterio

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British Columbia bids Mexican wildland firefighters farewell

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