Canadian firefighters to help Australia battle unprecedented bushfires

SYDNEY -- A group of specially trained Canadian firefighters will forego Christmas with their families in order to lend a hand with Australia's devastating bushfire.

The team of 22 high-level personnel deployed from Canada to Australia on Tuesday and will spend 38 days offering expertise across a range of areas including planning, aviation and operations.

An early start to Australia's bushfire season has already caused six fatalities and the destruction of hundreds of homes and countless other structures, while wreaking havoc across vast swathes of bushland in the eastern states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Throughout most of November, thousands of local firefighters were involved in the exhausting effort of protecting lives and property and bringing blazes under control.

However with the summer season only just commencing, fears for what is yet to come prompted Australian authorities to reach out for assistance.

Canada's British Colombia Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Doug Donaldson described the Canadian firefighters' willingness to leave their families during the holiday season as a testament to their dedication and professionalism.

"During British Columbia's devastating 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons, Australian fire personnel responded to our calls for assistance through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre," Donaldson said.

"We greatly appreciated their assistance during those difficult years, and we welcome the opportunity to help out our Australian friends now."

As of Wednesday morning there were over 100 bush and grass fires burning across New South Wales alone, with 45 of those yet to be contained.