Meet the international firefighters battling Canada's worst wildfire season in a century
CBC
Andrew Stewart said his first glimpse of a Canadian wildfire left quite the impression.
The firefighter from the South Australian Country Fire Service arrived in Canada on June 8 and was deployed to the wildfire burning near Edson, Alta., roughly 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.
"We could see multiple plumes of smoke in the local area and for us, we could tell from the fire behaviour we could see, and the smoke we could see, they were fairly intense fires moving at a rapid, rapid rate through the forest in high fuel loads," he said.
"From that, we knew we're going to have some significant days ahead of us."
Stewart is one of hundreds of firefighters from overseas that have pitched in to assist in Canada's worst wildfire season in a century.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, as of Wednesday, there were:
Sietse Vandermeulen, a forestry officer with Alberta Wildfire, said the help is invaluable.
"We would be going through a lot larger struggle right now," if Alberta did not have overseas firefighters helping fight the flames, Vandermeulen said.
Along with bringing experience fighting fires, Vandermeulen said the international firefighters bring something intangible.
"We've been bogged down working day in and day out. To have that positivity, to have that enthusiasm and that eager to work and help out has been phenomenal for us. A good morale boost for sure," he said.
Stewart started as a cadet with the country fire service in his hometown of Gawler, outside of Adelaide in South Australia.
By the time he was 16 years old, he was responding to fires.
He says this trip to Canada is his first time overseas.
"I think [my family was] excited and nervous at the same time. They've seen the extreme fire behaviour and crazy videos getting around social media and our news platforms in Australia, but they're very proud that our family can come and support Canada and represent Australia in providing bushfire support," he said.
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