Canada wildfires: South African fire crews go viral after joyous arrival in Canada to join wildfires battles

The arrival of South African fire crews and their now-famous positive spirit is once again capturing the hearts of Canadians and social media users alike

Corné van Hoepen
·Editor, Yahoo News Canada
·4 min read

More than 200 firefighters from South Africa touched down in Edmonton on Monday, bringing the same uplifting spirits that saw them go viral across Canada amid the devastation of the record-breaking Canada wildfire season in 2023. Dubbed the #climatechangewarriors by their organization, Working on Fire, the crew will spend the next 39 days in Alberta shoulder-to-shoulder with other international crews to combat the 120 blazes raging across the province.

Video posted to social media shows the fire crew, donned in distinctive green and yellow jumpsuits, breaking out in song and dance. Edmonton International Airport's arrivals hall has not been this lively in some time.

"You go to Canada to raise the South African flag and share your expertise and camaraderie with colleagues from other Canadian provinces to save lives, homes, businesses, and large swathes of vegetation," stated Dr. Dion George, South Africa's Minister of Forestry in a press release.

Sharing their camaraderie and positivity is exactly what they did, despite having crossed multiple time zones and over 15 hours in the air aboard an aircraft chartered by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

Before embarking on their firefighting mission to Canada, the #climatechangewarriors were subjected to an intensive three-day training regimen at the Kishugu Training Academy that aligns with Canadian firefighting standards, their press release states.

This being their sixth deployment to Canada, they bring along the hands-on experience needed to combat the over 120 active wildfires burning across Alberta.

"Impressively, 30 per cent of this deployment comprises women, including management team members, highlighting Working on Fire’s dedication to diversity and inclusion," the press release adds.

Along with the arrival of the South African fire crew, firefighting crews from Mexico and Australia also arrived in Canada, with crews from New Zealand and Australia "on their way," according to an update from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The exchange of international firefighting resources and personnel is helmed by the Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resources Sharing (MARS) agreement, which addresses the legal issues, procedures and costs involved in these collaborative efforts.

When Canadian resources are fully exhausted the provinces can also turn to CIFFC to broker international requests.

As videos of the South African fire crews singing and dancing their way through the Edmonton airport rapidly began circulating across social media, Canadians were quick to show their appreciation online.

Another user wrote about how "extremely grateful" they are that the teams are once again in Canada to help fight forest fires.

A user added that a South African team of firefighters also were in Canada in 2016, sharing video of their joyous arrival.

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