'It just shows you how capable you can be,' say women fighting fires in Wood Buffalo National Park

As wildfires rage in Wood Buffalo National Park south of Fort Smith, N.W.T., Sophia Xhekaj showed up for the battle.

Now into her fifth season of wildland firefighting, Xhekaj has joined dozens of other women who make up nearly half of the team of 111 firefighters at the park. It makes the crew a bit of an outlier — many wildland fire agencies elsewhere in Canada consist of a mostly male workforce, though the number of women fighting fires has increased in the past 20 years.

Xhekaj took training for structural firefighting, originally, but took a job as a wildland firefighter initially as a way to build up her resume.

"Ever since then, I fell in love with it," she said. "You get to go to such remote places that not a lot of people can say they've been to, and it's just such a fun job."

Xhekaj says the job is an empowering one for her. It's also a place where she's been able to meet amazing women and men in the field.

She said her team has a great support system, especially from crew leader Miles Barry.

"He always encourages us, teaches us new things — it's just a really good system, because everyone can bounce off each other if need be," she said.

Learning from each other

Misko Finlayson, who has been fighting fires for two years, told CBC she applied for the job on a whim. She liked being in the bush, so she knew she was up for the challenge.

She said she's learned a lot of valuable lessons from other experienced women in the field — like last year, when she decided to try sawing.

"I didn't even see one in action until I joined this job," she said.

"I learned from a 6-foot-seven-inch guy who just rips around and does whatever he wants, and I'm like, 'Hi, this is really heavy. I can't keep going the way you can.'"

That's when her crew leader, Sasha Yasinski, stepped in. 

"Under her mentorship, [I learned] there is an entirely different way to use a saw," Finlayson said. "I didn't really realize how different you could utilize your body, your weight, I guess your centre of gravity and stuff."

She said once she made the adjustment, it made that aspect of the job much easier. 

But it isn't just tips on how to use tools that women provide each other in the field. The benefits can be as simple as the availability of menstrual products, Finlayson said.

"It makes it a lot easier out there."

'A really cool job'

As for working with Parks Canada crews, Finlayson said she's so far found complete acceptance — and when she's had to speak up to address something off-colour, her crewmates are open to listening.

"It's been easy to bring them up and be like, 'Hey, maybe think about it this way next time,' and they're like, 'Oh, yeah, that's my bad,'" she said. 

Aurora Vassal is from Fort Smith and has also been fighting fires for two years. Both of her parents worked for Parks Canada, so she applied when she was looking for work after university.

"I didn't really know much about [wildland firefighting]. But I always thought it was a really cool job," she said.

She said she was a bit nervous at first to step into a traditionally male position, but she soon realized that it was an inclusive environment.

She also had another female firefighter on her first crew, and they quickly became friends.

"It's just so fun. You just really get so close with the girls you work with because you're all in it together. And it just feels so special," Vassal said.

"It's just really amazing," she said. "When I see other female firefighters who have been here longer doing stuff, I'm like, 'I can totally do that.'"

Vassal has had a lot of proud and exciting moments along the way. Last year, she felled her first tree. She also learned how to turn on the water pump by herself.

"That was a pretty big moment this year," she said. "[Xhekaj] taught me how to do it so I can do it on my own. That felt pretty amazing,"

All three women said they highly recommend and encourage other women to get into firefighting if they are interested.

"Just try it out," Vassal said. "I've done so many things and learned so many skills that I would have never learned,"

"It's just worth it. Like the job is hard, of course, but everyone you work with makes it so much better. And there's lots of good snacks. So that's important," she laughed.

"I really do love it," Finlayson said. "If you like the outdoors, you'll like this job,"

Xhekaj agreed it's hard work, but it's also fun, and the challenges are worth it. 

"I feel like a lot of women, when they come into this job, they are intimidated," she said. "But it just shows you how capable you can be — not only mentally tough but physically as well. I feel like it just brings out a better version of you."