American Red Cross Volunteers Head to Canada to Help Wildfire Evacuees

More than 115 American Red Cross disaster volunteers will support sheltering efforts in the Canadian province of Manitoba, where thousands have had to evacuate.

More than 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Manitoba, forcing as many as 13,000 people to evacuate. The Canadian Red Cross has launched a massive relief effort in response to the fires and the American Red Cross has deployed more than 115 trained disaster volunteers to help.

The 100+ fires have already scorched more than 2.5 million acres. Manitoba has declared a provincewide state of emergency for the second time this year.

The American Red Cross volunteers will support sheltering for thousands of people who have been evacuated and will be based in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital and largest city.

“We are initiating a response to support the Canadian Red Cross' urgent request as they respond to the vast, out-of-control wildfires burning in Manitoba, where nearly 13,000 people are evacuated,” reported Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Operations & Logistics for the American Red Cross. The U.S. volunteers will join the more than 530 volunteers from the Canadian Red Cross who are already responding.

There has been a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Red Cross Societies for years to facilitate the exchange of support for disaster preparedness activities and disaster relief operations between the American and Canadian Red Cross.

The Canadian Red Cross is working closely with community leadership, the Government of Manitoba and/or Indigenous Services Canada to provide support to people impacted by the fires. They have:

• Registered more than 23,400 people from over 9,500 households who evacuated due to the wildfires in Manitoba.
•  Secured more than 2,400 hotel rooms for evacuees.
• Worked with partners to secure transportation for the arrival of people being evacuated into Winnipeg.
• Provided health-related support to more than 740 people who had been evacuated, including health referrals and transport to medical appointments.
• Provided emergency supplies such as cots, blankets and generators for shelters, along with food, diapers, formula, snacks, pillows and hygiene items.
• Provided urgent supplies for communities that remain in place, such as food, air purifiers and other requested equipment.

In 2016, the American Red Cross also stepped in to support relief efforts in Canada when a wildfire in Alberta, Canada, forced more than 88,000 residents of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas to leave their homes in search of safety.

The American and Canadian Red Cross are two of the 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that make up the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network. Often referred to as National Societies, their roles differ country by country, but they are all united by our Fundamental Principles and all strive for the good of humanity.