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Jakarta –

Hundreds of South African (South African) (Damkar) firefighters flew to Canada. They will help put out already serious forest fires.

AFP report, Wednesday (14/6/2023), Under the scorching sun, 200 South African firefighters completed their last training cycle on Tuesday (13/6). The exercise was the last exercise before flying out to help Canada fight wildfires.

They are the second group of firefighters to fly to the North American country. Nearly 17,800 square miles of forest are known to have burned since the start of the year, well above the previous average, amid climate change.

The first batch of more than 200 South African firefighters deployed to the Canadian province of Alberta early last week.

The deployment was in response to an “urgent request” from the Canadian Forest Fire Agency, according to South Africa’s Department of Forests and Environment.

Over the past month, fires have broken out in almost every province in Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted, “Our resources are extremely limited.

As a result, Canada had to juggle resources and call in reinforcements from overseas.

South Africa is just one of the countries that has come to the aid of Canada. Besides South Africa, Australia, the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, France, Spain and Portugal also sent firefighters.

Canada and South Africa signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019 “to assist each other in emergencies related to forest and land fires”, Peter van de Merwe, a senior official, told AFP. forest scientist who will lead the group, in the eastern town of Mbombela.

Watch the video “Health Risks from the Effects of Wildfires”:

(aik/aik)