First firefighter death in Canada wildfires

OTTAWA: A firefighter in western Canada has died battling one of the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the country for weeks, her union announced Friday.

The incident on Thursday was the first death on the ground since the start of the fire season, in which more than 900 fires are currently burning including 570 out of control. The British Columbia General Employees Union said the woman died outside the town of Revelstoke in British Columbia.

“It is with heavy hearts that our union mourns the loss of one of our BCGEU family,” it said.

British Columbia recently ordered new evacuations due to the blazes and requested the help of 1,000 more international firefighters.

“It is very, very challenging across Canada and across the globe right now to secure additional firefighting capacity,” BC Fire Department spokesman Cliff Chapman said on Thursday.

“This is a very dangerous job,” he went on. “With the conditions we are in, it makes it all that much more dangerous for our staff who are working 14, 16, 20-hour days.”