Tauranga responds as Canada burns

TECT Park ranger Jarron McInnes is flying to Canada tomorrow to help battle hundreds of wildfires. Photo / John Borren

A Tauranga park ranger will be working among the best rural fire fighters in the world this week as he helps battle hundreds of uncontrolled wildfires tearing across Canada.

Deputy principal rural fire officer Jarron McInnes has been fighting rural fires in New Zealand for 30 years and last week earned himself a deployment to Canada - in the height of its fire season.

More than 16,000sq km have already burned in Canada - about three times the area that is normally burned for this time of year, National Public Radio reported.

Mr McInnes had gathered from daily updates that about 400 wildfires were burning, anywhere between 500ha and 40,000ha in size, with another 20 to 30 starting up every day from lightning strikes.

"We're talking the size of Auckland burning that we've got to deal with," Mr McInnes said.

The TECT Park ranger would go with 15 other New Zealanders from rural fire services, the Department of Conservation, councils, forestry companies and private contractors.

Each person offered different skills and the team would work in a management capacity, as opposed to on-the-ground fire fighting.

"Much to the relief of my wife," Mr McInnes said.

Mr McInnes understood he would be a team leader, co-ordinating resource supply to the teams of fire fighters on the ground.

"Whatever they need, we'll need to act very quickly and get that out to them."

Canada had exhausted its own rural fire resources as well as its ring-ins from North America and Alaska.

It then turned to Australia and New Zealand.

Mr McInnes' deployment group would be working 14 days straight as soon as they arrived, with two days' break before another 14 days work.

If the fires continued, another New Zealand deployment may be sent over after their month.

Mr McInnes has had less than a week to prepare for his deployment after he was chosen last Wednesday.

Despite the circumstances, the deployment was a "dream come true" - "You always read and hear about these big fires in Canada and Alaska so it's like going to the Mecca of rural fire."

TECT All Terrain Park operations manager Bill Wheeler said the park was lucky the local community would rally around to help during Mr McInnes' absence, with assistant ranger Tom Mayne taking up residence to ensure there would be no interruption to the day-to-day running of the park.

"To be called in to help our Canadian cousins is a real privilege for me," Mr McInnes said.