Smoke is visible from a fire near Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island on July 4, 2015.B.C. WILDFIRE SERVICE/The Canadian Press
Big hills and bigger mountains are the most significant difference for a team of Ontario firefighters as they start work in British Columbia today.
The group of 70, sent to B.C. by Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources on Tuesday to help fight wildfires, are facing a much different terrain than their usual Ontario landscape.
A ministry official says while the mountainous terrain provides challenges for the Ontario firefighters, it shouldn't be a problem for them.
B.C. requested the help through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which sends firefighters and equipment across the country when needed.
Ontario has also sent two CL-415 heavy water bombers, a Birddog aircraft and seven aviation personnel. The bombers were in Kamloops today and are heading to Vancouver Island later in the day, says a fire information officer in Kamloops.
Kevin Skrepnek says the Ontario team is in Abbotsford, B.C., and the majority will be sent to the western part of the province, including Vancouver Island.
The deployment to B.C. comes as wildland fires burn across parts of western Canada, including Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.