Canadian firefighter dies while combatting wildfires in British Columbia

TORONTO

A female firefighter has died in the efforts to extinguish forest fires in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Bill Blair, Canada's Minister of Emergency Preparedness, announced the death of the firefighter on his social media account.

"Yesterday, a firefighter in British Columbia lost her life while heroically serving her province. This is a tragic reminder of the risks our firefighters are facing, and I offer my deepest condolences to her family and the entire firefighting community as they mourn her loss," Blair said.

The death of the firefighter was also announced by British Columbia General Employees' Union in a statement. The firefighter was identified as a female but her name was not provided.

She was battling a fire outside the town of Revelstoke, approximately 310 miles (500 km) northeast of the city of Vancouver in the province of B.C., the union added.

According to reports by CBC, there are currently three wildfires within 30 miles of Revelstoke, and two are deemed out of control.

Over 3,500 forest fires have occurred in Canada since April 2023.

According to official data, this figure is well above the 10-year season average of 2,751 fires. In the fires that continue all over the country, there are still almost 700 active fires, most of which are out of control.

The forest fire season in Canada is considered the April-September period, depending on the historical background of the fires.

Over 9 million hectares of forests have burned in the fires so far. This figure was recorded as 11 times the average of the total forest area burned in the last 10 years.