More than a dozen New Zealand firefighters have returned from more than a month fighting forest fires in Canada.
It was the first time firefighting crews had been sent to Canada since 2009.
They arrived home this morning.
A Marlborough firefighter in the field in Canada. Photo: Supplied
The 16-strong team was sent after a request from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
The group left on July 10, and were helping local staff manage the fires which have destroyed about 500,000 hectares of forest in Alberta.
An Otago firefighter in the thick of it in Canada. Photo: Supplied
Firefighters from Australia, South Africa, Mexico and the United States also took part.
A liaison officer on the team, Russell Barclay, said the firefighters found it an unbelievable experience.
"They all worked extremely well, really hard... it was sort of hard to get into too, not knowing some of the people they were working for.
"It takes a wee while to pick up on the way they do things, that's why we have a two-day handover period so that they get familiar with the way Canadians operate," he said.
New Zealand firefighters have been sent to help in Australia nine times in the past 15 years, and six times in North America.
A national rural fire officer, Kevin O'Connor, said the Canadian deployment was a long and strenuous one.
"Their skills, especially in logistics and working effectively in remote locations using aircraft, proved really useful and were in high demand," he said.
