Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico has deployed 104 emergency personnel to Canada to help fight the wildfires devastating large areas of Ontario, the Mexican government announced.
The contingent, which departed from an international airport bound for Thunder Bay, Ontario, includes 100 field firefighters and four technical experts in fire management. The team will join Canadian emergency brigades immediately upon arrival.
Personnel were selected through Mexico’s environmental agencies, including the National Forestry Commission (Conafor), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), and civil protection agencies. Firefighters come from 24 Mexican states, notably Jalisco, Michoacán, Durango, Tamaulipas, and Chiapas. Five women specializing in forest protection are part of the highly trained group.
The bilateral cooperation is based on a Memorandum of Understanding and an Operational Plan for Resource Exchange between the two countries. Canada currently has more than 800 active wildfires across several provinces, with Ontario among the hardest hit.
Dense smoke from the fires has reached the United States, severely degrading air quality in multiple cities. Meteorologists and health authorities issued air quality alerts for Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, and Boston. The environmental fallout has recently strained diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Canadian governments over crisis management.
The Mexican firefighters carry specialized, state-of-the-art equipment for extended operations in extreme weather conditions. They will work closely with Canadian commanders on firebreak design and cooling critical areas. The deployment is expected to last several weeks.
