A firefighter has been killed whereas preventing an enormous wildfire in northeastern British Columbia, marking the second such fatality within the Canadian province this month throughout this yr’s report fireplace season
Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn alongside a ridge prime north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photograph/Noah Berger)
The Related Press
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A firefighter has been killed whereas preventing an enormous wildfire in northeastern British Columbia, marking the second such fatality within the Canadian province this month throughout this yr’s report fireplace season.
The British Columbia Wildfire Service confirmed Saturday {that a} contract firefighter crew member was killed Friday within the Prince George Hearth Centre space, which incorporates the just about 6,000-square-kilometer (2,316 sq. mile) Donnie Creek blaze.
The workplaces of each British Columbia Premier David Eby and Forests Minister Bruce Ralston say the firefighter, who has not been recognized publicly, died whereas preventing the Donnie Creek wildfire.
On July 13, 19-year-old Devyn Gale died whereas she was preventing a wildfire close to Revelstoke, British Columbia after she was struck by a falling tree.
Eby mentioned in his assertion that the latest fatality coming so quickly after Gale’s dying “has shaken folks all through” the province and devastated the firefighting group.
Statistics from the provincial wildfire service present there are at the moment 363 lively wildfires in British Columbia, with 11 new fires within the final 24 hours and 191 blazes labeled as uncontrolled.