More than 100 Mexican wildfire personnel arrive in B.C.

More than 100 firefighting personnel from Mexico arrived in British Columbia on Monday as the province contends with dozens of out-of-control wildfires. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar welcomed the contingent at Vancouver International Airport following a B.C. Day long weekend that saw thousands of wildfire evacuations.

For the first time, Mexico’s assistance includes an incident-management team to help lead firefighting operations. More than 200 additional personnel from Mexico are expected later this week, with further help anticipated from Alberta, Australia and other jurisdictions.

Dry lightning, strong winds and record drought conditions in southern B.C. drove an increase in fire activity over the long weekend. Cliff Chapman of the B.C. Wildfire Service said unprecedented fuel conditions were creating explosive fire behaviour.

Conditions have improved enough to give crews several days to make progress on some fires, Chapman said, but he warned that August is generally the province’s hottest month and more lightning is expected. The provincial dashboard listed 126 active wildfires Monday: 53 under control, 20 being held, seven newly sparked in the previous day and 14 declared out.