Canadian Armed Forces Deploying 300 Troops in Alberta to Help with Wildfires

Around 300 Canadian Armed Forces troops are being deployed in Alberta to help with the wildfires. Till now, about $2 million has been given to evacuees along with $77,000 distributed in debit cards. The troops will assist firefighters, help with the evacuation, and lend engineering support.

Mike Ellis, minister of public safety and emergency services, said, “Units will deploy to the Grande Prairie, Fox Creek, and Drayton Valley areas soon, so Albertans will see movement on roads and in the air.” According to the latest reports, around 300 Canadian Armed Forces troops are being sent to parts of Alberta to help with the wildfires.

About 200 troops have been deployed across Alberta and 100 more will be joining them over the weekend. Troops from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment are setting up bases of operations in Grande Prairie County and Drayton Valley.

Till now, to support the evacuees financially, $2 million has been sent to them via email transfers. Additionally, $77,000 in debit cards has been distributed. The number of evacuees has come down from the initial of about 31,000 at the peak of the emergency to 16,470.

The Canadian Armed Forces troops will assist the firefighters, they will help with the evacuation, and also lend engineering support wherever they can. While there have been a few days of relatively calm weather, the upcoming hot and dry weather this weekend may make things worse for the crews. Till yesterday, there were 82 wildfires and 23 of them were out of control. There are more fires burning outside the forest protection areas.

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