BRANDON — A company from Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry has left CFB Shilo to fight wildfires in Alberta.
Around 75 soldiers gathered inside the battalion’s headquarters for roll call and to receive initial orders before loading their gear onto three buses that headed out from the Canadian Forces base just after 10 a.m. Friday.
The soldiers join firefighters that have been dispatched to Jasper, Alta., from locations as close as Calgary and as far away as Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
About 75 soldiers from CFB Shilo have been deployed west to help battle the wildfires in
Alberta that most recently destroyed nearly half of the community of Jasper.
It’s the first time 2PPCLI has been deployed on wildfire duty this year. A smaller reconnaissance team led by the battalion’s commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Chelsea Braybrook, departed for Edmonton early Thursday.
Maj. Devin Kruk, officer commanding the vanguard, told the Brandon Sun before departure he’s expecting a deployment lasting two to three weeks.
“We’re going to support the federal, provincial and local authorities with the ongoing situation in Jasper,” Kruk said. “This is the first vanguard company that is moving towards that area and then once these situations have been fully assessed, there may be follow-on forces.”
He wasn’t sure yet whether they would be sent directly to Jasper or just to its vicinity. The destination will ultimately be up to the unified command co-ordinating efforts from different levels of government out of Hinton, located roughly 80 kilometres northeast of Jasper.
It’s the second time Kruk has been deployed to fight fires, he said, having been sent to northern Saskatchewan in 2015.
Media reports Friday said around one-third of the structures in Jasper have been destroyed or damaged by wildfire, but critical infrastructure remains intact. That includes the hospital, emergency services building, schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant, according to Parks Canada’s website.
Kruk said photos and videos of the devastation have served as motivation for the Manitoba-based soldiers.
“What’s happening out there is a tragedy for the Canadians involved — and as part of the military, we’re here to support (them),” Kruk said. “Our soldiers are well trained and ready to go, no matter what the situation is.”
Pte. Thomas Pilipaitees is among them. He said he got a call around 4 p.m. Thursday to return to base after being on leave in Winnipeg.
“Within two hours, I was back on base, packed and ready to go,” Pilipaitees said.
“I haven’t been out fighting a fire, but last year, we did go out to British Columbia around the Kamloops area to fight fires. We weren’t needed at that time but, hopefully, we’ll get to do something this time around.”
Pilipaitees added it’s his understanding the soldiers would be tasked to do Type 3 firefighting — putting out hot spots, doing checkpoint control and supporting those on the front lines.
Every year, he said, the firefighters at the base run its soldiers through a course covering the basics of firefighting, including how to dig guards and use hoses.
“What’s happening in Jasper is terrible,” Pilipaitees said. “Luckily, this is what we signed up to do. We sign up to help Canadians, even if stuff gets dangerous.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on social media Thursday more than 400 international firefighters are on their way to Jasper and “every federal agency is co-ordinated, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuations support to the area, and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground.”
— Brandon Sun