A member of the Ministry of Natural Resources is one of many in Canada helping fire crews in Australia.
Kenora’s Mike Shapland works out of the MNRF base in Dryden.
Shapland is now stationed in the State of New South Wales and is assigned to a blaze with a fire perimeter of 443 kilometres, with three other fires burning within it.
The Aircraft Operations Manager says one of the biggest challenges right now is the thick, dense smoke.
Shapland says “For days and days it has severely impacted air operations and flying.”
He notes there have been days where he can’t see the mountains, noting they are only two or three miles away.
However, Shapland says they received some relief, allowing them to ramp up aerial attack over the weekend.
There are 110 aircraft stationed in New South Wales, and Shapland is assigned to ten of them.
Shapland has been in fire ravaged Australia since January 4th.
The country has been fighting bushfires since September.
At least 29 people and millions of animals have been killed in the flames, more than 2,500 homes destroyed and an area roughly a third the size of Germany completely burned.
To hear the full interview with Mike Shapland, visit the Audio link below.
(Picture: Mike Shapland Facebook)
