San José.- Costa Rica sent 102 forest firefighters and three specialist technicians to the province of British Columbia, Canada, to support the fight against forest fires, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) reported this Thursday.
The firefighters were selected from among 300 people who signed up for the process and had to undergo physical and medical tests, as well as verification of training requirements and years of experience in forest firefighting, detailed the MINAE.
The ministry explained that the aid deployment will last 33 days and they are expected to be back in the country on September 13th.
This is the sixth mission that Costa Rica has sent to Canada to fight forest fires since 2023, in which a total of 542 firefighters have participated.
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For the authorities, the experience gained by each person participating in this mission will also be key to strengthening the brigades and will improve the response to this type of emergency in Costa Rican territory.
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According to information cited by the ministry, Canada has recorded more than 4.1 million hectares affected by forest fires and counts more than 600 active fires, of which more than 100 are out of control.
Furthermore, the fires affect one or more jurisdictions, conditions that generate the need for international aid.
Last Monday, Canadian authorities reported that the wildfire spreading rapidly through the interior of the province of British Columbia, in the west of the country, has caused at least one death and forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate.
