As universities prepare to welcome students back to class, and with over 500 wildfires still burning, the B.C Wildfire Service is bracing for an exodus of firefighters.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Ryan Turcott says they plan for this annual exit of seasonal firefighting staff.
That said Turcott also admits the fire season is still pretty bad so they are offering contract extensions to firefighters who want them.
“Certainly a large segment of our workforce does happen to be university students who are employed with us on a seasonal basis. This isn’t an issue specific to this year, this is something that we plan for every fire season. But as such, we do anticipate about 30-35 per cent of our seasonal workforce will return to school in the fall.”
Turcott says the Wildfire Service is hoping to bolster its firefighting numbers as it seeks help from forestry as well as out of province and international firefighters.