South Korea sending 151 firefighters to help Canada’s battle against rampant wildfires

South Korea is sending a 151 firefighters to Canada, joining over 1,400 foreign firefighters to fight against hundreds of wildfires that have swept through the country.

According to the Korean embassy in Canada, this team of “emergency” firefighters will be on a 30-day mission to help firefighters in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Que., an area that has experienced one of the worst blazes in Quebec since this year’s wildfire season.

It’s the second time in 2023 that Korea’s Disaster Relief Team was dispatched to such a deployment. In their first mission, the team was involved in a relief operation in Turkey following the earthquake that struck the country in February.

As Canada battles its worst wildfire season in recent memory, firefighters from more than 10 different countries across five continents have come together to combat the raging flames.

Over 1,470 firefighters from Mexico, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, South Africa, and the United States have been deployed to Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta to help Canada fight against wildfire.

Wildfire season started in Alberta last month and has since spread to other regions such as Nova Scotia and parts of the Pacific province of British Columbia. The wildfires have been causing significant damage and posing risks to the affected areas. A record 80,000 square kilometers of Canada have burned.

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.