Brasília (DF) – The humanitarian mission sent by the Federal Government to Canada has begun work to combat the forest fires that have been ravaging the North American country since January this year. The Brazilian team, which includes about 20 National Civil Defense members, is working in British Columbia, one of 13 provinces affected by the disaster.

Coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Brazilian team has 104 specialists concentrated in five brigades. Mission members must operate on Canadian soil until August 24.

For the last two days, the team has been in the field since six in the morning, carrying out fire fighting activities. “Today, Brazil’s actions are at three particular points and, fortunately, there are no new fires,” said National Civil Defense chief of staff, Wesley Felinto.

According to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), there are currently at least 885 active fires, 199 of which are under control and 566 are out of control. To date, more than 11.1 million hectares of land have been burned.

In addition to MIDR, professionals from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBIO) and the National Public Security Forces (FNSP), as well as firefighters, participated in the mission of military personnel from the state of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Tocantins, in addition to the District Federal.

The Ministries of Defense, Transport and Finance cooperate with mission organizations, as well as the National Council of Brazilian Military Fire Brigades (LIGABOM) and other federal and state departments. The team also consists of ten members of the quilombola brigade, from the state of Goiás, and nine members of the indigenous brigade of the Xerente ethnic group, from Tocantins.

Based on an internal legal decision of the Canadian government, the costs of sending the Brazilian delegation will be reimbursed by the country, which will also offer aircraft to transport the Brazilian specialists and their equipment.