United States (Wisconsin) - About 20 forest firefighters from Wisconsin are being sent to Canada to help with wildfires in Manitoba. Most of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources firefighters left for Winnipeg on Monday for a two-week assignment. They will then head to The Pas in northwest Manitoba where numerous wildfires have cropped up from lightning strikes in remote areas igniting dry vegetation.

The state DNR firefighters will probably be broken into four five-person squads which will focus on pump and hose laying efforts in remote areas.

Wisconsin and Manitoba are part of the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact along with Michigan, Minnesota and Ontario. Fire crews from Minnesota and British Columbia have already sent firefighters to Manitoba. All expenses for the Wisconsin DNR crews will be paid by Manitoba.

Now that the spring fire season is over, the fire danger in Wisconsin is low due to an abundance of rainfall and humidity.

Written by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel