Wauchope's Mark Drury joins multi-agency mission to battle Canada's wildfires

Mr Drury is a Senior Field Ecologist who has been with the Forestry Corporation for 24 years.

He and his Coffs Harbour-based colleagues Tom Halliday (Harvest Manager) and Peter Simon (Protection Coordinator) left for the Alberta firefront on Friday, May 26.

A spokesperson said the men are among the Foresty Corporation's most experienced firefighters and incident management specialists.

In addition to his Australian bushfire deployments, Mr Drury previously travelled to Canada on a Rotary vocational exchange where he "learnt about forestry and firefighting in Alberta's forests".

"I am excited to get back over there and see some of their techniques and equipment in action," he said.

The men join a 222 strong contingent of emergency services personnel who also represent the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, the State Emergency Service and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said specialists will be working in a variety of roles.

"[They] are highly trained and will be working in both arduous firefighter roles on the ground as well as incident management positions, including an incident controller who will be responsible for overseeing an entire team of operators," he said.

An estimated 225 active fires are burning across 2.1 million hectares in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Almost 30,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

Canada provided similar support to Australia during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020, including in Kempsey.

Commissioner Rogers said the deployment follows a long standing tradition of helping fellow firefighters.

"NSW agencies [have been] providing international firefighting assistance for more than two decades with multiple deployments to Canada," he said.

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said he wished the Australian contingent "the strength and resolve to making a meaningful contribution to the people of Canada, before returning home to their families".

They are expected to complete at least a 30-day deployment, which may change depending on the severity of the wildfires.

Their efforts are being coordinated by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council's National Resource Sharing Centre, following a request for assistance from the Canadian Government.

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