Firefighter killed while tackling wildfire in British Columbia

A firefighter has been killed while battling a massive wildfire in north-eastern British Columbia – the second such fatality in the Canadian province this month and the fourth in Canada during this year’s record fire season.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Saturday that the 25-year-old, from Ontario, was working in a remote area when his heavy-duty ATV rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road just before 11am on Friday.

Police said the man, who has not been publicly identified, was taken by helicopter to Fort St John but died en route.

The RCMP said a workplace fatality investigation is under way.

Provincial officials confirmed the man was a contracted firefighter working for the wildfire service through a private British Columbia company and died while fighting the 2,316 square mile (almost 6,000 sq km) Donnie Creek blaze.

BC Premier David Eby issued a statement on Saturday saying the fatality coming so soon after the death of 19-year-old firefighter Devyn Gale on July 13 “has shaken people throughout” the province and devastated the firefighting community.

“This wildfire season has been profoundly awful,” he said.

Statistics from the provincial wildfire service show there are currently 363 active wildfires in British Columbia, with 11 new fires in the last 24 hours and 191 blazes classified as out of control.

In total, there have been 1,517 wildfires in British Columbia this year, burning a record-breaking 5,944 square miles (15,397 sq km) of trees, bush and grassland.