Massachusetts sends firefighters to help battle Quebec wildfires

CARLISLE, Mass. (WLNE) — Members of the Healey-Driscoll administration sent 11 state wildland firefighters to Quebec, Canada, to help battle wildfires Thursday.

The officials and firefighters gathered at the Department of Conservation and Recreation Bureau of Forestry and Fire Control headquarters in Carlisle to see off the “Wildfire Suppression Module,” who will assist with fighting the 124 wildfires that have burned since the beginning of June.

The state is sending the firefighters in response to a request from the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission and the Northeastern Interagency Coordination Center at the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

Gov. Maura Healey said the crew will engage in direct fire suppression working on the fire line for about 14 days building fire breaks, securing fire perimeters, containing fires, and protecting structures.

“Over the last several years we have seen the impacts of the climate crisis here at home and around the world, in the forms of extreme weather and increasingly severe wildfires that continue to ravage our forests,” Healey said. “We are proud of these 11 Massachusetts wildland firefighters who are heading up to assist our Canadian partners in battling these intense wildfires.”

All the firefighters are federally certified, having passed a 40-hour federal wildland firefighting class and physical fitness test, she added.

The 11 firefighters are from Carver, Conway, Holliston, Milbury, Millis, Oak Bluffs, Plainville, Plymouth, Sagamore Beach, Salem, and West Newbury.