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Soldiers In Bright- Orange Coveralls Fight Fires In Northern Saskatchewan

The Canadian Press, 10 Jul, 2015 12:48 PM

MONTREAL LAKE, Sask. — Soldiers are digging up hot spots and plowing through dense brush and blackened trees as they continue to protect the remote Saskatchewan community of Montreal Lake.

About 200 defence personnel, wearing bright-orange jumpsuits, were deployed on Wednesday to help battle wildfires that are threatening vast swaths in the province's north.

Lt.-Col. Mason Stalker expects numbers of Canadian Forces members to swell in the area.

Stalker says the work is dangerous and soldiers are at risk of dehydration and being crushed by falling trees.

He says about 60 reservists from Saskatchewan are eager to join the fight and that could happen as early as the weekend.

Flames and thick smoke have forced an estimated 9,000 people from their homes.

Fire-fighting crews from Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and South Dakota have been helping out.

Montreal Lake is about 130 kilometres north of Prince Albert.

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