Republished May 04, 2016 - 3:40 PM
Original Publication Date May 04, 2016 - 12:10 PM
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - A look at what was being done Wednesday to battle the Fort McMurray wildfire:
ON THE GROUND
There were approximately 250 firefighters on the scene, including 100 wildfire firefighters.
That also included 88 structural firefighters from across Alberta, who arrived in a convoy. The convoy also included 22 tanker trucks, including specialized foaming trucks.
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IN THE AIR
Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said there were 12 helicopters on the job. She said the air was "completely saturated with as many aircraft as are safe" to fight the fire.
There were also 16 air tankers backing up crews on the ground. Tanker operations were moved from the airport to contingency bases because smoke and winds shifted.
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FROM OTTAWA
The federal government said it would provide all possible assistance.
A Hercules air transport plane was flying to CFB Cold Lake from CFB Trenton and four Griffon helicopters were headed to Fort McMurray.
The Alberta government advised the Department of National Defence of its needs. Helicopters were on hand to rescue people and airlifts were to be provided to move in fire-fighting material and crews.
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FROM OTHER PROVINCES
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates help between provinces, had a request from Alberta for fire crews, a management team and equipment, specifically pumps and hose. A standard hose in Canada is 30 metres long. The request was for 4,000 lengths.
British Columbia was sending 100 pumps and hoses.
Ontario said it would send 100 firefighters and 19 supervisory staff to be deployed Friday.
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FOR RESIDENTS
At least eight reception centres to help 80,000 evacuees were set up in various communities, including Edmonton.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016