Yukon wildfire fighters battle blazes across the prairies

Yukon wildfire fighters are off to Alberta and Saskatchewan to help fight a major wildfire outbreak. 

"We've got a low fire danger rating here" said Haley Ritchie, an information officer with Yukon Wildland Fire. "So it's a good time for us to be able to help out." 

Both provinces have seen massive evacuations due to wildfires and a number of rural communities have also declared states of emergency. 

Five attack crews and an agency representative went to Alberta. The 21 people are accompanied by an L188 Electra heavy air tanker for aerial firefighting, along with the plane's two pilots and a dedicated mechanic. 

"They're such specialized aircraft that they come with their own personnel, who travel with the plane," said Ritchie.  

She said Yukon Wildfland Fire does not own the air tanker, but contracts it out for the season. 

A spokesperson for the Alberta government said  Yukon crews are battling the Swan complex fire near Slave Lake. It's the hardest hit part of Alberta, where more than 88,000 hectares have already burned. 

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre puts out the request for wildfire fighters, Ritchie said. Once they arrive within the province or territory, the local agency coordinates who goes where. 

Meanwhile, a division supervisor and trainee from the Yukon are also on their way to Saskatchewan to help out with personnel logistics there. 

"Hopefully in the future, we'll be able to get support when we need it too," said Ritchie. 

She said if the fire situation were to change in the Yukon, crews could be pulled back within 24 hours. A cool and damp spring has meant a slow start to wildfire season in the Yukon, where just four hectares have burned so far.

Personnel are allowed to be deployed for 19 days in total, including travel time.